Photo by Brian Frank
It’s not hard, even for a liberal, to admit that Sarah Palin is getting trashed by the media. As Thomas Friedman wrote on Sunday, it’s like “shooting fish in a barrel.” But, I have to say, I think she’s getting the short shrift. And, no, not just because she has femmeladybits.
Sarah Palin is what I would call a “true believer.” She sees the world in black and white. And you are either with her, or you need to get out of the way. In addition, she is pitch perfect on her “of the people, for the people” presentation. The great thing about having strong beliefs (”America is awesome!”) is that you also have a tendency to think that any reasonable person would agree with you (”It’s the America we see”).
Put aside your own political leanings for second and consider the Bill Ayers issue and Palin’s reaction to it. The case against Bill Ayers, put very, very briefly, is as follows:
In the late ’60s, Ayers was the leader of the radical group the Weathermen. By his own account, Ayers participated in the bombings of New York City Police Headquarters in 1970, the United States Capitol building in 1971, and The Pentagon in 1972. Also in 1970, three Weathermen were killed when a bomb they were making exploded in their Greenwich Village townhouse. In 1980, Ayers turned himself in to federal authorities, although charges had already been dropped due to misconduct by the prosecution.
In 2001, during a promotional interview for his memoir, Fugitive Days, Ayers told a New York Times reporter: “‘I don’t regret setting bombs.”
(Okay, okay, so three days after publication Ayers wrote that his words has been “misconstrued.” So what? Why should we believe a domestic terrorist?)
To put this in chronological context, Barack Obama was named the president of the board of directors for the Chicago Annenberg Challenge, a non-profit which Ayers was instrumental in starting, six years before those statements were made.
If you don’t have a problem with the Weathermen, or if you think that Ayers educational career has redeemed him in the eyes of the public, that’s one thing.
But if you think that domestic terrorism is unforgivable, that Ayers deserves to rot in jail, like the mother of the boy Ayers raised, Kathy Boudin, who spent 22 years in prison for Weathermen activities, then you might have a problem with your president ostensibly condoning Ayers.
In fact, it would probably seem pretty damn scary. I don’t think Palin is rabble-rousing when she says that Obama “pals around” with terrorists. I think that she is, as an American, personally afraid of Barack Hussein Obama.
Palin lives on fear. Check out her opening statement from the VP debate:
Go to a kid’s soccer game on Saturday, and turn to any parent there on the sideline and ask them, “How are you feeling about the economy?”
And I’ll bet you, you’re going to hear some fear in that parent’s voice, fear regarding the few investments that some of us have in the stock market. Did we just take a major hit with those investments?
Fear about, how are we going to afford to send our kids to college? A fear, as small-business owners, perhaps, how we’re going to borrow any money to increase inventory or hire more people.
Fearmongering (close cousin to mudslinging) has been a political mechanism from the beginning (see: Cleveland, Grover; or watch this video). Palin, if nothing else, is as adept a politician as anyone. If politics is a combination of being in the right place at the right time and charming the right people, then Sarah Palin is among the best.
If you don’t like Palin, and I’m guessing many of you broke out in hives just reading the title of this post, then she makes no sense. Literally. The positions that she espouses seem contradictory. The words coming out of her mouth make no sense. But give her a little slack, and she comes off seeming, well, crazy like a fox.
What better way to give Americans the sense that you are talking directly to them than to forgo traditional interviews, accuse the media of being a “filter” (rightly), and brush off “questions” from a “moderator”?
What better way to represent “middle America” than to have a very American accent, use American jargon, and have a bunch of kids?
Americans are (again, rightly) aggrieved and frustrated at leadership that has come, for better or worse, from some of the best schools available. Make the correlation, kids. Harvard and Yale got us into this mess. Maybe the University of Idaho can get us out.
Like her or not, she did lower taxes in Wasilla, improve infratructure, and take a 10 percent paycut. She did take on issues that were important to her. And heads rolled.
Her clearcut view of the world is of the reasons that I find Palin so… admirable, for lack of a better word. In Palin’s worldview, raising taxes is bad. Serving your country is good. Abortion is wrong. Christianity is right. Discord is bad. Balanced budgets are good.
I, personally, don’t think that it’s that easy. I have a hard time pointing fingers at a presidential nominee and insinuating that he is a terrorist. I would have a hard time continuing to stand on a stage when the audience is suggesting that we “kill” someone.
But Palin is an inspiration in terms of what sheer force of will can do. Her nickname, Sarah Barracuda, is not the product of her “attack dog” role in McCain’s campaign. It was her nickname in high school, where she sunk the championship game-winning point on a twisted ankle. You can’t make this stuff up.
McCain will likely lose this election. I hope he does. But we have not seen the last of Sarah Palin. And there is a lesson in the appeal that she has to voters. Don’t we all want to believe that we’re “good enough, smart enough, and, doggonit likable enough” to make it in this crazy world?
Tags: ayers, Palin, presidential race
Hi, Samantha. Although you do make a good point about Palin truly believing what she preaches and how that may have reflected during her job as governor of Alaska, I question Palin’s integrity and intentions. Sitting on a non-profit board with Ayers is a far cry from ‘palling with terrorists’, and a quantum leap from ‘being’ a terrorist. In addition, Obama publicly denounced Ayers’ despicable actions from the 70’s. But if you (like Palin is) were CURRENTLY associated with an anti-American group like the Alaska Independence Party, and you talked at their meetings and publicly said “Good work!” and “God bless you” to them, and at the same time you denounced a (supposed) similar behavior in someone else, this shows you’re either a hypocrite, severely lacking in intelligence, a fanatical who will measure her own actions with a different criteria than her opponents’, or (which I fear might be the case), all of the above.
Also, Palin’s ‘timing’ for her lashing out about Obama’s alleged friendship with Ayers makes the argument that she isn’t “rabble-rousing when she says that Obama “pals around” with terrorists”, a little harder to defend.
I’m sure Palin has some good qualities and has done good things as governor. But when you resort to fanatism (”excessive intolerance of others’ point of views”), and demagogy (”impassioned appeals to the prejudices and emotions of the populace”) you’re on your own way–however cutesy, winky and charmin(g)–to instilling and governing through fear, a pre-condition to terrorism. THAT scares me.
Obama stutters and stammers and women swoon, but they hate Palin’s wink and call her a fanatic when Obama is a marxist? I just don’t get you guys.
Sarah is so sparklemotion for all the reasons you state in your post. I don’t agree with her value system, but gosh darnit, I love her style!
Greetings Norma! I don’t hate Palin at all. In fact, I agree with MarilynJean–I like Palin’s style! But I wish she’d wink and then say something intelligent, or vice-versa… then I would swoon–in a masculine way
But I see no substance behind it, no real knowledge or curiosity about anything, except reciting scripts given to her by advisers of a defunct administration like the one we’ve had for the past 8 years… well, to me it’s sad, and a little scary. And her behavior does show elements of fanaticism.
In terms of Obama being a Marxist, can you be more specific? Is it because he’s intended on ‘taxing the rich’? Is that the only Marxist element? Marxism is very complex, and its practical application seems to have failed miserably. Do you think that Obama wants the U.S. to be like old Russia, or Cuba? Or are you thinking more like, say, Denmark?
BTW, I broke a foot while visiting friends in Denmark once. Had the most incredible experience one could imagine in terms of free medical care. I also could see no poverty anywhere. Those were the upsides. The HUGE downside: people didn’t seem really happy. Content, yes. Satisfied, yes. But they lacked spark; they seemed to have nothing to fight for. Huge suicide rates… Obviously, being ‘given’ stuff (by the State or by anyone) never works. Earning your stuff leads to a much more fulfilling experience of life. But as of lately, this country has no longer been the ‘land of opportunity’ and ‘the beacon of freedom’ and the ‘power of good in the world’ that it once was. The world sees us as bullies with inflated egos. Jealousy? If we were doing great, I’d say maybe. But we’re not. I think they’re pointing something out.
One more thing (so sorry, can’t seem to write a short post!). If ‘taxing the rich’ is marxist, how about a 700 billion-dollar ‘bailout tax’ on the American people? Interesting… are we resorting to marxist strategies to fix the result of (supposedly) capitalistic policies? Something ain’t right! Thanks for reading.
I have never heard Sarah Palin answer one single question directly. That alone causes me not to trust her as far as I could throw her. (I won’t even go into the outright lies.) Maybe she’s actually brilliant but cannot communicate. Maybe she really is as idiotic as she appears. Both prospects are terrifying to me. She is one of those people who don’t even comprehend the incredible irony of the things she says. Just one example: She’s “proud” of her daughter’s “decision” not to have an abortion, yet she wants to take this decision away from women. I’d love to hear her try to explain the difference between “decision” and “choice.” Regardless of whatever qualifications she may or may not have, I cannot get behind any person who cannot answer the simplest of questions. For Christ’s sake, she won’t even tell us what newspapers she reads. I try to keep a balanced, fair, open mind, but there is very little about this person that doesn’t scare the bloody hell out of me.