Tuesday, September 9, 2008

Palin, Clinton, and the PUMAs: What My Students Taught Me Today

Discussing Sarah Palin in class today challenged my belief that the support for McCain among former Clintonistas is mostly a media mirage.

Several of my students reported family members or friends shifting their support from Clinton to McCain. And they said McCain's choice of Palin really cemented this shift. It's mostly women who are migrating to McCain, though not exclusively so: one student's grandfather wants to vote for a strong woman, and to heck with her policies! (Oooh, a Freudian could have some fun with that!)

I am PUMA, hear me roar. Gosh, I wish this were just a phantasm of the media. Or a Daily Show sketch.

No, this isn't an actual puma, it's just a wonderful she-lion at the Berlin zoo. She was having a great time toying with that rope. Photo by me, Sungold.

4 comments:

sally said...

I also know several people who are actually going from supporting Clinton to supporting McCain. I live in NY, so that might be why, but apparently not if your students are any indication. There's also the new polls out about whites moving to McCain-Palin. The U.S. is not racist at all, no sir!

Sungold said...

Hey Sally. This is obviously not a scientific survey, by any means - but if even one or two percent of the electorate shifts from Clinton to McCain, that could tip the election.

Oh, I wish I weren't so gloomy lately!

M.R.Ambrose said...

I knew that would happen, but I didn't want to believe it! Can't these people wait until 2012 to vote for Clinton again?
oh!press pass

Sungold said...

Well, maybe I was engaging in wishful thinking, too. But darn it - there's been plenty of exposure of the Republicans' role in blowing up the "PUMA" story - so we also had good reason to think that PUMAs were mostly an endangered species.