To Cry Wolf

By Amy Yensi-

The cries of Conservative pundits of sexism in the treatment of the Republican Vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin has perpetuated an increase in the number of women on cable news shows. While there is no "official study" to pinpoint this gender shift. It is visible that the job of analyzing the political race horse used to be primarily deligated to men. However, the push back by the McCain campaign of most critiquing of Palin as sexist, has caused many of these talking-point programs to invite more women in the political arena to to participate in the commentary. This strategy negates the cries of discrimination based on gender. CNN Anchor Campbell Brown even made an appeal to the McCain campaign to "free Sarah Palin." One can't help but wonder if Brown was solely speaking for herself or if she was used as a spokesperson because it was safer for a woman to make such a statement.

Although the feminist in me enjoys that more and more women are the go-to political experts, there is a negative to the constant cries sexism. Prior to this campaign, one rarely heard charges that news networks and politicians were acting sexist, now its become commonplace. Do I think that some of these charges are justified? Absolutely. However, not all of them are. Many of these accusations, are seemly aimed at changing the conversation when the political discourse is not beneficial for the campaign making the allegations. Furthermore, every time the sexist card is wrongfully used, it devalues the legitimate cries of sexism that may come about in the future. Pretty soon, when someone is accused of sexism, skepticism may overshadow the validity of the argument.

Here's to hoping the political "powers that be" find another scapegoat, so that women who are subjected to the humiliation that is sexism can speak out and not be ignored because "we hear it all the time."

Seven Years Later

By Amy Yensi-

I was sitting in computer class trying not to dose off. The sound of hysteria in the hallway jerked me out of my daydream . The teacher opened the door to see what the commotion was about. Dozens of high school students were running to the exits; some were crying. I heard a girl say "my mother works there, no no no." I asked a friend what everyone was talking about and she explained to me that there was a fire at the Twin Towers. I didn't have an immediate reaction, I had no clue of the level of death and destruction that would soon come to mar the day.

I found my best friend in the corridor, she was wandering in the hallways as I had been, trying to make sense out of something that we still do not have all the answers for. We saw a friend who was there to pick up one of his cousins. He was eighteen, so my friend and I latched on to him in order to get home, finally. I never in my seventeen years had wanted to get home so fast. My friend convinced me that we should stick together, so we ran to her house instead.

We turned on the television, and there they were-- the Towers engulfed in flames. The sky was black. At first, I thought it was a movie, a sick commercial maybe, but not reality. My friend began changing the channels and they all had the same image. We sat there in silence, fearful that we had not seen the worse.

I felt so ashamed. I had never taken the time to visit the World Trade Center. I had passed by them, nonchalantly, but I had never entered the buildings, and I regretted that. It was the first time I realized what a landmark was. For years, I scoffed at the tourists who marvel at the big buildings, now I wished I had done the same.

I never knew I would cry for people I never met, but I did. I felt like I had lost someone in the Towers, even though I had not. I was angry. "Who do these people think they are?" I thought to myself. I wanted answers, and at times I even wanted revenge.

All my life I identified myself as Dominican, Dominican-American, Latina, Hispanic, "from the Bronx." September 11th was the first time I felt American. Amidst all the images of ash, flames, and misery, I saw people rushing down to help the rescue workers, donate blood, or wave the flag.
Seven years ago I learned the value of that flag.

Missing Credits

By Amy Yensi-

With all this debate about whether to teach abstinence only or full fledged sex education in schools, it makes me wonder why we are not discussing the one thing all Americans need to be educated on--finances. Most of us do not know all there is to know about the real estate market, the credit industry, or even saving and investing for that matter. If we learned early on how to manage our money then we would ultimately make better finance decisions. Finance education has a greater value than sex education, but I doubt you will hear a debate on this issue.

Annoy the Media, Vote for Palin...and McCain too

By Amy Yensi-

What a difference a few hours make in political time. After the McCain-Palin campaign began complaining that the stories about Sarah Palin were more of a witch-hunt than objective journalism, the 'north-eastern elite' media have been walking on eggshells. They have been bending over backwards to showcase positive accounts of Palin and give equal time to analysts with conservative inclinations. To the political junkie, this radical conversion can be quite confusing. However, it is totally understandable why the media has "backed off."

First, the argument that attacks on one's family and personal life are tasteless and irrelevant to one's political ambitions and goals is valid. The media apparently agrees, and have been biting their tongues for the last 48 hours since the Republicans began their backlash strategy. If you want to corner the media, giving them a label such as "liberal" is a sure way to make them more cautious in the stories they run.

John McCain and Sarah Palin's argument can be countered, however, by simply stating that they are speaking out of both ends of their mouths. How can you expect the media to not pry into your personal life, when you yourself tout your personal experiences because they make you more "human?" For example, America didn't need to know that she likes moose burgers, her husband is a snow racing champion, and her nickname on the basketball court was Barracuda. The reason we know is because she told us. Its not fair to use the media to share personal details that make you seem relatable, but then denounce the same media when they talk about the negatives, that also make you relatable. If you want to be seen as human, then the bad stories are just as valid as the 'cutesy' ones.

It can be argued that the media is probably backing off not just because the Republicans are crying foul, but also because they have been left to do the questioning all by themselves. Its probably true, like Obama said, kids should be off limits, but what about everything else?

Barack Obama doesn't need to engage in the "National Enquirer" style speculation, but there are certain details that do raise questions about Palin's character. If the media is the only one questioning, then it does seem like they are the ones with an agenda. If Obama wants to keep and expand his lead in the polls, he needs to make it his agenda. The fact that Palin got rave reviews was partly because the bar was set so low, but also because the public does respond to negative attacks.

Democrats have assumed the public will not buy into partisan attacks in the past and it didn't work so well, remember John Kerry.

Pit Bull in a Skirt

By Amy Yensi-

The beauty of low expectations is that when the bar is set so low, as long as you don’t make any gaffes, you succeed. On Wednesday night, Sarah Palin fought back against the naysayers and ‘elite media’ by serving more red meat than a butcher. Her speech was setup by the previous appearances of Senator John McCain’s formal rivals for the Republican Party’s presidential nomination—Mitt Romney, Mike Huckabee, and Rudolph Giuliani. Giuliani proclaimed that Senator Barack Obama had accomplished ‘zero’ and ‘nada’ amid profuse applause by the delegates. Palin succeeded in establishing herself as an attack dog, she went as far as saying that the only difference between a hockey mom, something she has labeled herself as, and a Pit Bull is lipstick. Palin drew the line in the sand, surely in an attempt to provoke the Obama campaign to cross it.

Obama though, is known for his cool demeanor, and will probably not take the bait. Tit for tat would surely lead to more cries of foul and sexism, reminiscent of the Democratic Primaries. Obama should focus on the one thing that Palin and the other Republicans mostly did not, the economy. At the end of the day all the stingers made some cheer and others jeer, in the words of James Carville: “It’s the economy stupid.”

So far, the Republicans have had a convention that for the most part, could have taken place during any of the past presidential elections. The problem with repeating tried and true arguments is that the public expects them. By purely focusing on the basis of the party and talking points, the Republicans are failing to address the current difficulties Americans are facing and can therefore add credibility to Obama’s argument that they are out of touch. Senator Joe Biden, who is known for his foreign affairs credentials, should hammer away at Palin’s lack of world travel and experience. In order to keep their lead, the Democrats must take back control of the public debate, such to focus on the issues that matter to voters.

Although Palin diminished Obama’s experience, he must be wary of simply mudslinging, he and Biden must talk about the solutions they have for America and corner Palin and McCain to offer their vision for the future. Palin achieved her goal for the audience she wanted to reach, the Republican base. However, all Americans were watching and now everyone can see that the gloves came off. She has opened the door for the Democrats to bring the fight right back to her. She rallied the ‘base’ while simultaneously losing some of the vulnerability that was shielding her from personal attacks from the Democrats, notably Obama who denounced the attacks on her family. Nevertheless, Palin proved to American she could dish it out and on October 2nd she will have to prove if she can also take it.

Palin in Comparison

By Amy Yensi-

Republican supporters began touting John McCain’s choice of Sarah Palin as his running mate almost immediately following the shocking announcement of the ticket last Friday. McCain saw a surge in his campaign contributions; blogs were inundated by shows of support by GOPers, and conservative talking heads acclaimed her reputation as a ‘reformer’ who stood up to the corruption and earmark spending of members within her own party—including the now infamous “Bridge to Nowhere.”

Democrats however, were not so excited with McCain’s choice, and accused him of clearly pandering to women—Hillary Clinton supporters, especially. Many of these women immediately began denouncing the choice on web forums, citing that they were insulted by the choice. To many of the women who supported Clinton, it was as if the McCain campaign was saying that they would support any woman because they previously supported Hillary.

The McCain campaign seemingly overlooked one key factor, that Clinton supporters may have been supporting a woman, but it was mostly because it was THAT woman. To Clinton supporters, even without much knowledge of who Sarah Palin is, Palin would never be able to fill their candidate’s shoes.

Nonetheless, Republicans were hopeful that McCain’s pick would shake up the electoral race; McCain aimed to divert attention from Obama’s widely watched and praised acceptance speech.
72 hours after picking Palin, McCain sure enough snatched the spotlight from Obama, but not for the reasons he had hoped.

The fact that Palin is opposed to everything Clinton stands for is the least of McCain’s problems. For the last three days, Americans have been bombarded with scandal after scandal surrounding the VP hopeful. We were just introduced to her, and we’ve already learned that her opposition to the “Bridge to Nowhere” is not as clear-cut as she presented it; we've learned that she is under investigation for abuse of power in what has become known as “Troopergate,” it is also being said that she was a member of the Alaska Independence Party, which wants secession (withdrawal from the United States) for Alaska.

All of these issues may be troublesome to McCain and Palin, however the bombshell that is being discussed more than any of these is that Palin’s daughter, Bristol Palin is 17 years old, unwed, and pregnant. The GOP critics, not surprisingly, wasted no time in mocking the so called “family values” party as hypocritical, and used Palin’s daughter as a chief example for why her mother’s opposition to sex education and birth control is problematic. To them, in the real world, kids may or may not abstain from sex, so educating them on the pitfalls of unprotected sex is desperately needed. Palin’s daughter has momentarily at least, become the poster child for the double-edged sword that is the abstinence only argument.

Following the announcement, many Republicans have been trying their best to spin this “negative into a positive” by stating that the Palin’s family decision to keep both Trig (Sarah Palin’s child with Down Syndrome) and Bristol’s unborn child is proof that they are anti-abortion to the core. It is also proof that for all the talk that Hillary Clinton is “divisive” and has many “skeletons in her closet,” the Palins, for such novices on the national stage, are giving the Clintons a run for their money.