Lot of politicians---most recently and fervently, Vice-presidential nominee, Sarah Palin---want to represent "Joe Six-pack". Good old Joe represents, for them, the quintessential American. America exists to protect Joe and, should Joe come to harm or should Joe fail, America has failed. Accepting that, perform the following thought experiment: envision Joe, picture good old Joe in your mind. Got it? Good. Now answer the following questions: <ol> Is Joe black? Is Joe gay? Is Joe female? Is Joe handicapped? Is Joe old? Is Joe poor? </ol> Most people will likely answer "no" to all these questions. It's very similar with "Hockey Moms" or "Soccer Moms". Is good old HM or SM black? Latina? Especially poor? Not bloody likely. Soccer and hockey are not even close to America's number-one sports, but they <i>are</i> played overwhelmingly by white people. These words are designed to appeal to "Main Street"---another epithet with white connotations for most Americans---without overtly alienating everyone else. They rely on the same assumptions that make that riddle about the surgeon's son<fn> work. Continuing the thought experiment, one wonders what minorities think of a candidate who constantly refers to people that, in their own mind's eye, don't resemble them at all. Are black people going to think that she's talking about black people when Sarah Palin talks about "yer regular average Americans"? When even Obama talks about "working folks", it's hard to believe he thinks that people will think he's supported hard-working minorities in tough neighborhoods. No, the message in those cases is quite clearly going out to the majority of white voters, reassuring them---in code---that their dominance will continue and that their special needs as the oppressed majority will continue to be met. <hr> <ft><a href="http://www.somethinkodd.com/oddthinking/2005/06/21/the-doctors-son/">The riddle</a> goes: <bq>A father and his son were driving to a ball game when their car stalled on the railroad tracks. In the distance a train whistle blew a warning. Frantically, the father tried to start the engine, but in his panic, he couldn’t turn the key, and the car was hit by the onrushing train. An ambulance sped to the scene, [but on] the way to the hospital, the father died. The son was still alive but his condition was very serious, and he needed immediate surgery. He was quickly wheeled into an emergency operating room, but, on seeing the boy, the surgeon blanched and muttered, 'I can’t operate on this boy — he’s my son'.</bq> How can this be? Hint: a child has two parents, either one of which are capable of being a surgeon. People, however, are much more likely to think of "a surgeon" as male.</ft>