Hey, Sarah Palin! Go Away!

Why won't she just fade away into obscurity, already? Nine days out from a decisive defeat (not a landslide, but decisive nonetheless), Sarah Palin is still campaigning. A lot of people say she's positioning herself for a run at becoming Alaska's US Senator or (shudder) President in 2012. I think, like John Boehner and a lot of other Republicans out there, she is a sore loser and needs to bow out of the limelight with whatever grace and dignity she still has.

It's obvious that the Republican party is on the verge of civil war and in many ways it already is. Say what you want about Palin's impact on the campaign or the financial crisis, John McCain never rallied his troops. With the successful hijacking of the Republican party by reactionary, xenophobic religious extremists, politicians of once seemingly sound minds have had to pay lip service to the hateful and divisive elements of the party. Even Johnny Mac, who once correctly referred to Jerry Fallwell and his minions as "agents of intolerance", publicly kissed and made up with the old bastard prior to locking up the GOP nomination. Fortunately, irreparable brand damage and reality itself have countered the appeal of this wretched ideology.

It was this change in the winds that enabled John McCain to secure the nomination. But, it also was his downfall, as it was impossible to bridge the gap between resurgent, old-school Republicans and the now-defamed, newer breed of intolerant xenophobes. McCain, thus, sought to bridge the gap by choosing as his running mate someone who embodies this born-again, red-meat-spewing paranoia; he chose Sarah Palin.

Early on, she was a great hatchet-woman. She went after Obama, Biden, and the "elitist" media with a vengeance. She brilliantly acted as aggressor, while portraying herself as the victim. And despite my post from 9/4/2008 where I predicted she would be the demise of the GOP ticket, I was scared for awhile that voters would actually buy her elite-bashing fear-mongering, like they did with Karl Rove's manufactured distraction of gay marriage in 2004.

However, her gaffes, her glaring contradictions, and her plain stupidity resonated with people and when the economy was on death's doorstep in late September-early October, people woke up and smelled the coffee: this woman could be a heartbeat away from the presidency. Scary. Despite everything telling her and her handlers that her strategy was not a winning one, she not only kept it up, but she increased it. Her attacks on the Democrats and the media crossed the line to where they were just mean-spirited, to the point where at one point she even implied that people who live in less conservative places and vote for Democrats are not real Americans. I don't know how things work up in your frozen, barren, wasteland of a state, Sarah, but you don't win people over by insulting them.

But, a lot of McCain's campaign and his adherents subscribed to this mean-spirited garbage. Throughout the general election campaign, McCain events had a bitter edge to them and his disciples really had chips on their shoulder. Some of his events resembled lynch mobs with one or two yahoo's screaming out that they should "hang the terrorist!". This whole mentality, strategy, and atmosphere was exacerbated by the new Queen of Mean, Sarah Palin.

And she just won't shut up...or give up. She's on Today, Extra!, local news, everywhere still spewing her venom. She's keeping on with this negative campaigning and there is no campaign! The only thing I can surmise she is doing is publicly gunning to be the new standard-bearer of intolerant wing of the party. But, in so doing, she is further alienating the Republicans from main-stream America and tarnishing the Republican brand name. Unfortunately, she plays well in places like Alabama, Texas, and Oklahoma where a Darky-Socialist as President is a tough pill to swallow. I expect that she'll be around for awhile, but will hopefully contradict and gaffe herself into oblivion. And when she finally does, good riddance!

HELP! I'm Being Micromanaged.

I am in a tight spot right now. Very recently and very suddenly, my direct supervisor has become very constricting in her management style. Though she never deferred things to me, she had always exhibited trust in my knowledge and capacity to execute tasks both complex and mundane. Sure there were times where I made mistakes or glossed over a minute detail or two, but I learned from those experiences and applied the corrective actions. I am, after all, a human being and learning a new role does not come without it's share of goofs.

But within the past couple of weeks, she's been very assertive with the dominant role she has in our working relationship. For example, she has been making noticeably more references to the fact that she manages our team and our workload. Where in the past she has welcomed cooperating with other teams and has been supportive of my being a resource for collaborative projects, she is now becoming agitated with other managers and me when I have been working on such collaborations (a turf war has even broken out with another team). She is giving detail-specific directions on tasks as routine as writing an email and is becoming more and more critical of my performance by the day. And most worrying, she has painted me into a corner in terms of what sort of contributions she wants me to make to the point where I'm afraid these new limitations could be perceived as a sort of demotion by other teams.

There could be a million things contributing to this change in behavior. Her boss could have taken a similar turn and she could be reflecting that in her relationship with me. She could be nervous with the economic environment and thinks that being more...direct would make our team perform better. It could be personal problems. Or all of the above. The fact of the matter is there is nothing I can do except grin and accept it. A job is a job, after all.

I mean, what can you really say to your boss when they're behaving this way? If the company's atmosphere is more permissive and less bureaucratic, you might be able to have a sit-down, but unfortunately, my company is very conservative in terms of its bureaucracy and deference to hierarchy. And despite the fact that my boss has always encouraged open communication, I'm afraid that having this sort of discussion might be construed as an attack on her character and I really don't want to rock the boat.

The tact that I have decided to take is to roll with it and not let it get to me. There are going to be times where I am going to be pushed, but keeping my cool when things get dicey and acrimonious has always been a challenge for me, so I am trying to use this as a learning experience. My hope is that it will make me a better communicator and a better listener.

At the end of the day, I need to get my work done and if I let this permeate my psyche, my productivity will crash. Furthermore, taking it home with me will ruin the time I have away from this place. So, when Becky asks me how my day was, my standard answer has been "Fine, thanks. Elizabeth was a bitch. What do you want for dinner?" By leaving the battle at my office, it makes it easier to come here every morning and fight another day.

As PrettyMike always tells me, this, too, shall pass. My boss will lighten up (both in her mood and grip) and our working relationship will get back to the way it was. Despite turning into a programmed robot and punching the clock when I am micromanaged, I'm keeping my eye on the prize and am trying to learn as much as I can. It's the only lemonade I can make with this lemon, but lemonade nonetheless.

A Black Sheriff?

Why not? It worked in Blazing Saddles.

Just when my faith in the American people had bottomed out, they made the right choice for President yesterday. It hasn't really set in for me yet, but what we all witnessed yesterday easily ranks in the top five amazing things to have happened in American history. We might not have been the first developed, industrialized, G-7 country to elect a woman as Commander in chief, but by God, we were the first to elect a person of African descent. For a country whose own historical image is so blighted with racism, this is the ultimate redeemer. Pat yourself on the back, America. You done good.

That said, we done good more so because we picked the better candidate. Period. His resume may be paper thin, but his ability to inspire us is truly amazing. Unlike 2000 or 2004, elections that were so tainted with acrimony, in 2008 I have been receiving calls from some of the staunchest Republicans saying things like "He's our President now and I respect that. But, Goddammit, he better keep that bitch Pelosi on a short leash!"

To all of those Republicans out there (God love 'em), I think you can rest easy. Number one, the Senate is not filibuster-proof, so I suspect we'll see the cots rolled in a few times. Number two, the organizational juggernaut that was the Obama campaign demonstrates how meticulous this guy is in surrounding himself with people who know what they're doing and do it well. In stark contrast to his predecessor, who once wanted someone on the Supreme Court whose main qualification was to once say to him "You are the best President ever!", Obama has been surrounding himself with talented and effectual people from all ends of the spectrum. In this sense, he is Bill Clinton 2.0, so I don't think we have to worry about Communist re-education camps.

The only question mark is the House. While Obama is a healer and someone who, despite what his critics say, appeals to everyone, Nancy Pelosi is a stereotype of liberalism at its worst. She is an effete San Francisco liberal culture warrior who probably came to mind and subsequently caused hesitation in the minds of millions yesterday prepared to vote for Obama. Her time, and all of the other greater-than-or-equal-to Baby Boomers' time, has come and hopefully Obama will usher in new kind of politician, one not steeped in this 60's nonsense that is completely useless in the face of 21st Century challenges.

There you have it: despite the fact the guy is black (or half-black; either way, it's HUGE!), he is so anti-status quo. This election has changed American politics forever, from the players to the 30 minute infomercials, and for the better. And that's what I can't get my head around. There will be tests and there will be struggles, but hopefully we have been inspired to get things done and have inspired the world to once again get behind us.

Denouement

At long last, the 2008 general election will be decided tomorrow...just in time for the 2012 campaigns to kick off. I, for one, am happy it's over. Despite definitely voting for Obama, I am not convinced a McCain presidency would be a "kiss of death, unless he kicks the bucket and, God forbid, Sarah Palin is President.

No, I think McCain is so desperate to win this thing that he'll say anything and kiss any butt that he think will make it for him. If he's to win, I think once he gets in office he will disown the southern-fried moralists (Thank you, Economist) he's been courting since becoming the GOP nominee. Conversely, I don't think Obama is going to be the Black-Nationalist-Socialist all the hystericals think he's going to be. The fact of the matter is whoever inherits the White House is not going to have time to play ideological politics because they are going to be charged with cleaning up KooKoo Bananahead's incompetence.

What a contrast it is from the 2000 election. Our biggest problem was that we had too much of a surplus. I think if someone from 2000 walked into a time warp and emerged in 2008, their head would probably explode: they wouldn't be able to cognitively process who much this country's situation has deteriorated. Two wars? The World Trade Center and the Pentagon had planes flown into them? Gas is $4 per gallon? What's a "credit default swap? We are in a very bad place and whoever wins is either going to be a national hero, forever endeared in the annals of American history, or a miserable failure that would make Jimmy Carter look like a decisive leader.

I have said it repeatedly, but I think we need someone who is going to challenge us; a sort of "national personal trainer". As a society, we are out of shape in every way possible and we need to recapture some of our old spirit. I think the person to do this is Barack Obama; you might think differently. Either way, go vote; it will make you feel big and strong. (Thanks, Bob Schieffer)