A Liberal’s Confession on Sarah Palin

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After spending two days sheepishly defending the Lipstick Pitbull to women less liberal than myself, it’s time to ‘fess up: I kinda like Sarah Palin.

It’s a shameful admission to be sure, far worse than an abiding love of Miracle Whip in the Slow Food Nation foodie heartland. But how can you not like a woman who calls herself a pitbull and makes it sound charming?

I’d been baffled by the drinkers of 2000, who for some reason thought W would be a fun guy to get a beer with, and that that was reason enough for the ill-prepared guv to lead.

But Palin’s the Mommy Track’d equivalent, and I get it now. The woman has five kids, a full time job, and a sense of humor. Really? You don’t want to at least sit down with her for a cup of tea?

Yes, I disagree with her on every issue I care about (and several I don’t). No, I don’t like her policy, her history, or her hairstyle—and I don’t want her running my country. But I wouldn’t mind her in my moms’ group.

The Dems would be wise to make her look less charismatic somehow, and fast. Or at least stop yammering on about her parenting choices, so I can stop defending them.

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In "It's Not a Crisis. This Is the New Normal," we explain, as matter-of-factly as we can, what exactly our finances look like, how brutal it is to sustain quality journalism right now, what makes Mother Jones different than most of the news out there, and why support from readers is the only thing that keeps us going. Despite the challenges, we're optimistic we can increase the share of online readers who decide to donate—starting with hitting an ambitious $300,000 goal in just three weeks to make sure we can finish our fiscal year break-even in the coming months.

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