What is it?

After Republican V.P. candidate Sarah Palin's acceptance speech Wednesday night, my office was a buzz with comments extolling her attractiveness. Then it seemed necessary for us to breakdown just what it is about her that attracts. My boss sent me the following from a political forum he frequents. I thought it hit the nail on the head:

"James" tries to define what we were wrestling with earlier:

Great speech, great delivery, great presence.

As far as I can see, she did what she needed to do. She defied
expectations, she got some powerful and effective hits in on Obama.
She got some good hits in on behalf of McCain, and also on her own
behalf.

She spoke clearly and calmly in a voice that is soothing and
reassuring and confident, without a touch of the grating bitchiness
evident in the voice of someone like Hillary Clinton. Far from some
air-headed, untested, unprepared beauty queen persona that the media
wanted to assume her to be, she spoke in a way that seemed neither
afraid nor arrogant.

As to her babe reputation, I’ll say that it goes much further than
that. It’s not just that she’s beautiful with her large, sparkling
eyes, gorgeous smile, perfect skin, and lustrous hair. It goes much,
much deeper. It’s the personality behind the looks, and how that
personality manifests itself in her features and bring them alive that
makes her a very powerful force.

Sarah Palin is an extraordinary communicator on the non-verbal level.
She radiates calm and poise and inspiration, all at the same time.
Frequently people of power or high social status exhibit what are
called "cathathetic signals"; things that indicate their awareness of
their importance, signals that are also designed to make the listener
aware that the listener is of less importance. Their ego manifests
itself in postures, expression, and tone meant to reduce the ego of
others. Think of the pompous arrogance of Joe Biden. Or even Hillary
Clinton. They think they are better than you, and they can’t help but
communicate it.

Sarah Palin communicates confidence and ease with power, without
exhibiting any of these signals whatsoever. NONE. What’s interesting
is that Obama tries extremely hard to accomplish this same goal, it’s
part of what makes him an uplifting and inspiring figure. But with
Obama it is not genuine; it’s very carefully managed and controlled
and there are times when he loses his grip on it and a less flattering
side of himself is revealed.

Personally, I don’t care much for McCain. And the campaign is still
very young. But if tonight was any indication I expect some amazing
things from Sarah Palin.

McCain "Very Honored" by Bigot John Hagee's Endorsement

The following is from the Catholic League:

McCAIN EMBRACES BIGOT

February 28, 2008

Yesterday, Senator John McCain said he was “very honored by Pastor John Hagee’s endorsement.” The Republican presidential hopeful also called Hagee “the staunchest leader of our Christian evangelical movement,” citing the minister’s pro-Israel stance.

Catholic League president Bill Donohue addressed this today:

“There are plenty of staunch evangelical leaders who are pro-Israel, but are not anti-Catholic. John Hagee is not one of them. Indeed, for the past few decades, he has waged an unrelenting war against the Catholic Church. For example, he likes calling it ‘The Great Whore,’ an ‘apostate church,’ the ‘anti-Christ,’ and a ‘false cult system.’ To hear the bigot in his own words, click here. Note: he isn’t talking about the Buddhists.

“In Hagee’s latest book, Jerusalem Countdown, he calls Hitler a Catholic who murdered Jews while the Catholic Church did nothing. ‘The sell-out of Catholicism to Hitler began not with the people but with the Vatican itself,’ he writes.

“For the record, Hitler persecuted the Catholic Church and was automatically excommunicated in 1931—two years before he assumed power—when he acted as best man at Joseph Goebbel’s Protestant wedding. Hitler even bragged about his separation from the Church. As for doing nothing about the Holocaust, Sir Martin Gilbert reminds us that Goebbels denounced Pope Pius XII for his 1942 Christmas message criticizing the Nazis (the New York Times lauded the pope for doing so in an editorial for two years in a row). Much to Hagee’s chagrin, Gilbert also says that Pius XII saved three quarters of the Jews in Rome, and that more Jews were saved proportionately in Catholic countries than Protestant countries. Indeed, Israeli diplomat Pinchas Lapide credited the Catholic Church with saving 860,000 Jews. No religion can match that.

“Senator Obama has repudiated the endorsement of Louis Farrakhan, another bigot. McCain should follow suit and retract his embrace of Hagee.”