Those who have played chess professionally will immediately get the meaning of my title: “Exclam!!!!!!!” You see, it refers to when a player makes a brilliant move within the game; a move so good that it has the potential to change the outcome from there on in. You see, in the game called chess -one of the oldest in the world- we record each player’s move(s) with symbols; and once you see an exclamation mark in brackets or parentheses (!) recorded next to a move, you are supposed to take a long hard look at the move and its relevance to the later outcome of the game. It sets the stage for the post-game analysis and for later evaluation. At the end of this presidential race in early November, we will all look back at John McCain’s gambit of yesterday and we will all see the genius in this move. Whoever advised him to make this selection deserves a raise. Win or lose it was a brilliant move.
In chess, we also have a symbol for recording a move that we can later deem a blunder (or too speculative); it’s a question mark (?). Sometimes recorders use asterisks (**); especially when they think this move will be the cause of the player’s obvious demise or downfall. Many writers have already questioned John McCain’s choice of Sarah Palin (the republican governor of Alaska) as his vice-presidential running mate. They are all wrong.
Sarah Palin is no Dan Quale: she is Sarah Palin. She is spicy, attractive, spunky, feisty and intelligent. She is one hell of a woman; on every level. I have read about her many times in the past and near everything I read I appreciated. She was a college athlete, a beauty queen, the former mayor of a small town, a surprise winner of this governorship, and is now a fine stateswoman. She is a devoted wife and family-woman also.
No; I don’t share most of her political views, nor do I share her right-wing predisposition as it relates to the political spectrum, but I will share this: by the end of this campaign most Americans will get to love this woman. She has charisma, she has good looks, she speaks well (a lil squeaky-voiced sometimes/lol), and she is still very down to earth. She also happens to be the most popular governor of all 50. Her positive ratings in her home state hit the roof almost; and he likeability factor is also very high. John McCain made a brilliant move here; but many won’t see it: at least not yet.
Many here on these blogs will agree with Gatemouth: that this is a bad choice on McCain’s part. Remember that Gatemouth and others were adverse to me when I first wrote about Barack Obama; who he was, what he was doing, where he was going, and what his chances were. Back then they were all doubting Thomases, who would go to my comment section and write all kinds of crap about what I wrote then. Where are they today? What are they today? They are Barack Obama lackeys; last minute ass-kissers. Include a few electeds in this list; especially those who talked about Barack’s lack of experience then.
The same thing happened to my comment section when I said that Barack Obama blew it, by failing to select a woman as his running mate. The “Thomases” came up here with their usual “bs”. They have no imagination; they refuse to think outside the box. This is a change year; and by change I mean real change, not symbolic gestures. John McCain has tapped in to real change in a way that too many white boys would be unable to understand.
Sarah Palin is no Dan Quayle -as the talking heads have been already saying, all over mainstream media. I know Dan Quale; he was no friend of mine because he was an asshole. Period. He was one of those rich white-boys who feel that white-skin privilege is an entitlement. John McCain tapped into female anger, energy, frustrations, hopes, dreams and aspirations -all at the same time- with this stroke of genius. His selection of Sarah Palin was an exclam (!!!!). Period.
Stay tuned-in for part two of this.