Admittedly, this is not a South Asian subject but its inherent hypocrisy has prompted me to write this post. At the height of the US presidential campaign the Republican Party’s vice presidential pick Sarah Palin had this to say about Barack Obama.
“There is a lot of interest, I guess, in what I read and what I’ve read lately. Well, I was reading my copy of today’s New York Times and I was interested to read about Barack’s friends from Chicago.
“I get to bring this up not to pick a fight, but it was there in the New York Times, so we are gonna talk about it. Turns out one of Barack’s earliest supporters is a man who, according to the New York Times, and they are hardly ever wrong, was a domestic terrorist and part of a group that quote launched a campaign of bombings that would target the Pentagon and US Capitol. Wow. These are the same guys who think patriotism is paying higher taxes.
“This is not a man who sees America as you see it and how I
see America. We see America as the greatest force for good in this world. If we
can be that beacon of light and hope for others who seek freedom and democracy
and can live in a country that would allow intolerance in the equal rights that
again our military men and women fight for and die for all of us. Our opponent
though, is someone who sees America it seems as being so imperfect that he’s palling around with terrorists who would
target their own country?”
The terrorist in question was, of course, William C. Ayers, once a member of the radical Weatherman group who is now a professor in Chicago. Since then 53 percent of American voters have elected the man “palling around with terrorists” to be their president. So what can Sarah Palin do to avoid having any association with a terrorist by implication? The honorable thing to do is to refuse to hobnob with one whom she was so convinced kept company of those out to destroy America. There is only a little obstacle in her path to do the honorable thing. She is a politician and a governor who needs money for her state. So instead she chooses to reverse her stand 180 degrees and choose to have dinner with Obama.
Palin is in Washington, a town she cannot stand, to look for an opportunity to meet a man she believed counted terrorists among his friends. Asked if she will attend the exclusive club dinner in D.C. this weekend, she said "The Alfalfa dinner, yes, in fact that's because President Obama is scheduled to be there. And how often will I have an opportunity to have dinner with the president? I will take up that offer to do so." The summersault is so brazen, it needs no comment.