McCain/Palin on NBC.

Tonight’s interview with Brian Williams.

I don’t want to comment.  I want to leave it to you to decide what you think.

But I do have to ask: how many of the questions are actually answered?

Explain It to Me, McCain Supporters.

Maybe more accurately: explain it to me, undecideds.

I watch the debates, and I see one candidate who (and let’s put aside “values” and “issues” for a second) is calm and measured, who answers questions placed before him by providing a logical context, then ennumerating step-by-step the plans he’d take towards solving the problems at hand, who speaks eloquently and specifically about the state of the world and the United States’ position within it.  On the other side, I see a man who comes off cranky and unsettled, who paces nervously while the other candidate is speaking, who tosses off snide comments as jokes (that immediately plummet to earth with a thud).

I don’t get it.

Yes, I know the issues are important.  Most people vote on the issues.  I vote on the issues.

But the difference here is clear.  The difference between Biden and Palin is clear.  This shouldn’t even be a race.

UPDATED: This is a long, very interesting take on the whole thing from an outsider perspective.  A lot of it actually makes sense to me–I need to spend some more time with it, of course, because I’m not sure I can wrap my mind around all the accusations just yet.  And I’m certainly going to try to spend some Ron Paul/Cynthia McKinney time here on these pages shortly.  But here’s the thing: listening to these two folks last night, there are obvious differences.  One candidate is more acceptable than the other.  It’s incremental change in the grand scheme of things, but it’s huge in the here and now.

White Privilege, Male Privilege, and Obama.

Great article on white privilege here.  Some thoughts:

*I talk a lot about this concept in my day-to-day life, usually avoiding the term “white privilege” because, well, it tends to scare white people and make me come off as the angry Latino.  I’d say that the vast majority of rooms I find myself in (particularly in the theater world) are full of unspoken but readily accepted privilege, and that even the positive-minded conversations we’re having during this election cycle drip with that privilege.

*Years ago, I taught at an activistic high school/afterschool program run primarily by people of color (Latinos, to be precise).  There were a remarkable number of women in high places in the organization, and it was through my relationships with those women that I first became aware of my male privilege–the ability to dress however I wanted without fear or repercussion, the fact that I was instantly taken more seriously be certain people in power due to my gender, the inherent assumed authority I was given in rooms with female peers and even superiors.  Over the five years I worked with those women, I learned (in often painful ways) to be aware of my privilege, relinquish it when necessary, embrace it on occasion, and most of all, to empathize with the women who were victims of it.

I think that one of the reasons I was able to understand male privilege is because I was (and still am) on the flip side of white privilege.  I find myself in rooms (often) where the burden of speaking for all people of color falls to me, because I’m the only non-white in the room.  I write plays that are destined to compete for single spots in theater’s seasons with every other writer of color, even if our work is vastly, impossibly different.  I see how screwed up the system is, and it makes me not want to perpetuate that system with my own privileged power.

*One of my old colleagues–a white women (now married to a Dominican man)–wrote this a few years back.  I think it’s a good place to start.

Community Organizers are Awesome. And Sexy.

And if you agree, you should read this e-mail I got forwarded, visit the link, and then go show your local organizer some sweet, sweet love.

Subject: In Defense of Community Organizing

Dear Friend,

In her acceptance speech last night at the Republican National Convention, Vice Presidential nominee and Alaska Governor Sarah Palin said, “I guess a small-town mayor is sort of like a `community organizer,’ except that you have actual responsibilities.”

Nominally, her words were an assault on Barack Obama’s early career as a community organizer on Chicago’s south side. But the impact reaches farther than that and is a direct affront to the thousands who have dedicated their lives to making America great.

I just signed a petition to tell Governor Palin to apologize for her disparaging remarks about community organizers — I hope you will too.

Please have a look and take action.

http://act.credoaction.com/campaign/community_organizers/?r_by=-1783202-NsbzYqx&rc=paste

Thanks!

And this is all I’ll say about that.

Go here for some good Alaska insight on the Sarah Palin experience — I’ve obviously got nothing I can add on any substantial front about who she is or why she’s been selected.  That post does a pretty good job of explaining it all, I think.  While you’re at it, check out what the very smart Miss Erica (fellow Liam Tancock hater) has to say too.

But here’s all I’ll say about it: the big story of the last few days was, and still is, that speech.  In fact, it was the whole convention.  Democrats–and a lot of them–are excited about our candidate in a huge way.  In fact, Democrats–and a lot of them–are excited about the entire party in a huge way that I wouldn’t have imagined possible four years ago.  80+ grand packed into that stadium and heard Obama clearly delineate his agenda, speak powerfully and eloquently, and call for the kind of common ground decision-making that is mandatory for effectively running any kind of organization that calls for consensus.  It was a historic moment, and it deserves to be remembered and built upon.

This is not a time to be reactive, folks.

If you’re excited about what you saw at the convention, be excited.  If you believe in Obama, support him.  If you believe in Biden, support him.  If you believe in any of the folks who believe in Obama/Biden and have implored you to stand behind them, support them.  Don’t hedge your bets out of fear of what could go wrong.  Don’t complain about the timing of the GOP VP announcement–that’s politics.  Don’t let the small details and difficulties and fears make this decision for you.

Yes, Obama is a politician.  So is everyone else involved in all this.  The fact that he’s good at the politics aspect of this biz shouldn’t work against him.  Nor should his popularity.  If you’re excited about what you’ve seen, be excited.

Don’t be reactive.  Don’t get bogged down in what you might perceive as pandering to the female vote.  Don’t get hung up what you dislike; rock with what you like.  And if you like what you’ve seen, like it.  Love it.  Embrace it.  The rest is distraction.  In ‘04, the work was all anti-Bush, not pro-Kerry.  But folks: we can be pro-Obama here.

And look.  If you dislike stuff about what you see, dislike it.  Question it.  Hold his feet to the flames.  The promises are large and perhaps unrealistic.  But, for me at least, they are infinitely better than the alternative, which means…I’m not concerned with the alternative at all.  I’m excited.

I feel like I might be a little rambly and unclear here, but I’m sure I’ll revisit this a ton.  The basic premise is pretty straightforward though: welcome to the race, Ms. Palin.  It’ll be interesting to see what you’ve got to say.

But I’ve already got something about which to be excited.