Generation Y women have long complained about what they perceive as the victim whinge of ‘70's Feminism. Well, we give you Sarah Palin, mother of five, ex-beauty queen, moose hunter, Governor of Alaska, hockey mother and now vice-presidential candidate. Talk of multi-tasking! And all that with a complicated hairstyle, an enviable figure despite a recent pregnancy, and a spouse content with simply being Alaska's ‘First Dude', and picking the kids up from school. Whether we like her politics or not, this is what women wanted when they were still tied to their tiny domestic world: career, political influence, kids, responsibility, an understanding husband with whom sex is still possible after four kids, free time for hobbies and being part of community life.
A whole generation have tried and partially succeeded, but few with the boundless energy of 44year-old Sarah Palin. Few with the unshaken conviction and the chilling innocence of unquestioning self-belief that this hitherto unknown candidate displays. Palin's early nickname was Barracuda, and her manicured index finger is now very close to That Button.
Iran, you better develop an interest.
The accepted wisdom is that McCain was either insane, or more cunning than anyone gave him credit for. Until this debate is decided it will be fascinating to watch more Alaskan soap opera unfold.
Already parents regardless of political persuasion, groan in sympathy with the Palins, as yet another teenager has Screwed Up In A Big Way Even Though It Was Not Her Fault And Nobody Understands, thereby possibly fatally impacting on her mother's and possibly the Republican Party's electoral chances. Some impressive youthful karma ripening there.
On the other hand, a certain Schadenfreude can't be denied when Mother Palin's opposition to birth control on schools' curriculum now shows the result in her own family. Teenage pregnancy and iffiness towards sex education have always been a particular and peculiarly contradictory obsession with conservatives. Now the Republicans have turned it into a triumph: the Palin's have not gone for abortion. But why it's quite such a triumph is not clear: surely no other choice was possible for pro-lifers?
Pro life only for unborn humans however, not for various unlucky mooses. Not everyone is ethically opposed to killing animals, but the image of Palin with her young daughter next to a blood soaked slain animal was not very edifying. It will however win every shooter's heart in the country of guns and Moses. And so will her unapologetic extreme right-wing stance, put forward in unabashed style during the St Paul convention. It was sort of admirable in its very naiveté.
Naive but also cluey: in a previous interview Sarah Palin bemoaned the Republican Party being peopled by ‘good old rich white guys', a shrewd perception. But does it suggest she has a sneaking liking for that young dark guy on the other side?
No. Her attacks on Obama were crass and presumptious, carried by the thin wit of the McCain speechwriter team. Her speech was powerful only in the sheer chuzpe with which she addressed the audience. One suspects that, in Goethe's words she is "not marked by thought's pallour", that she is clever but not intelligent, that she is impetuous when the world needs patience and insight, square while the contemporary world is multi-facetted.
It's a worry. At the moment she is only the vice-presidential candidate of course. But, embarrassing for McCain it has kindled a debate about his health and vigour, indeed his ability to survive his presidential time in office if he‘s elected.
McCain's acceptance speech will be a sign of whether this veteran campaigner still has what it takes, or whether her stilettos have already fatally punctured how he is perceived now - not as the magician who conjured up a brilliant running mate, but as a tired old man outclassed by youth and simple-minded vigour.
For the moment Sarah Palin is adding novelty and glamour to the crusty Republicans. Her very vulnerability makes her different from the cliquey Washington political system, a world alien and suspicious to most American voters. This is something that McCain desperately needs. The more difference to the calamitous reign of Bush the better. Palin's conservatism appears almost touchingly old-fashioned compared to the brutal and unprincipled cunning of the Neo-cons.
Her pragmatic dealing with her daughter's pregnancy will win her many female votes. Shit happens. Women, in particular mothers, know this. They might think that if she ever makes it to the White House she might be a defender of female interests. Maybe.
If choice is at the heart of Feminism, a debate is likely among women whether we have to tolerate, indeed support Sarah Palin, or vigorously oppose her. But perhaps she is now simply perceived as another woman who has made it, neither victim nor sister. A new generation of woman, without history, ready to rule the world.
Renate Ogilvie is a psychotherapist and teacher of Buddhist philosophy.