what celebrities have taught me about politics.

So I guess a huge secret about me is that I'm kind of obsessed with celebrities. In most of my free internet time I'm usually found somewhere between TMZ and The Superficial. It's an unhealthy habit and it will probably kill me one day, but it's like a terrible, horrible car wreck and try as I might I have to slow my car down and crane my neck out the window. I just can't look away.
Just like everything, celebrities have a lot to say about the election. We all know and also care very much that Speidi are endorsing John McCain (famous for what?!) and we've all seen the "Yes We Can" video (I won't even mention Obama Girl).
To me, it seems that McCain has picked a celebrity vice presidential candidate. She's on the covers of magazines in the grocery store! She's all over TV! She has intruded into, I would say, most American thoughts for the past few weeks that she's been around. I definitely do have to hand it to McCain since Obama's campain seems hidden in Sarah Palin's huge shadow. No one could have done the job better. There is no one that could have been a greater threat to the cult of modern womanhood than Sarah Palin. What a terrifying choice! I've already decided that when I graduate and we have a president Palin or McCain I will be moving out of the country in protest.
All interjecting with my personal views aside, what I'm really interested in are the celebrities views. They have some great things to say about this vice presidential hopeful who doesn't even know what the VP does (around 1:55 and 2:50). I feel like they are becoming a loud voice for those of us who feel kind of powerless and voiceless in the hugeness of the country and the anonymity that comes along with it. They are saying things that I am feeling in my heart of hearts about Sarah Palin ranging anywhere from Pamela Anderson's seemingly uninformed "She can suck it, quote me" to Matt Damon's vision of the "really bad Disney movie" where McCain dies and the hockey mom becomes president with all access to the nuclear codes (I am so terrified). Diddy's video blog 16 is probably one of my personal favorites:

I feel like he really brings up some valid points, and a lot of my fears.
And who can ignore Tina Fey doing a completely spot on impression of this crazy lady?

So the lady is nice, she's cool, but who wants someone to lead us who can't even bear to make fun of herself and swears she watched the above clip with the sound down and found it funny? Really, where is the humor in that? It also furthers the idea that all women's brains aren't created equal, contrary to republican belief. Hillary's been on SNL, and Sarah can't even watch a satire of herself ("I can see Russia from my house!" resonates between my ears when I look at a picture of her now).
It's only September, but I will be so thankful for November to cast my Green Party vote for the first time in a presidential election and cross my fingers that the celebrities did their jobs and have somehow deported Palin back to where she came from (Russia. Circa 1860. yes, she reminds me of totalitarianism. snap.) with their witty banter and super informed ideas. I am so serious about moving to Spain.

Have the culture wars returned?

If your email exercise responses are any indication, the overwhelming majority of you believe more Americans identify with Barack Obama's story of multiculturalism, compromise, and change than with John McCain's story of duty, heroism, and tradition. But I wonder how people who live in small towns across the United States, towns with populations that share the same race and religion, might have responded. Do you think they would agree with your opinion?

Reconsider your response. How much of it was influenced by your personal history and by living in a multicultural, largely urban region? Sarah Palin's acceptance speech last night offered a lively and determined defense of small-town conservative values, and the buzz in the media hints that she may have ignited a culture war between liberal, urban cosmopolitanism and conservative, rural conservatism. Given the positive reaction to her speech, can we continue to argue that her embrace of tradition, duty, and heroism represents only a minority of Americans?