The pathetic public pimping of Palin
Sarah Palin: The “do it all” woman
Alaska Governor Sarah Palin couldn’t have imagined that a small-town girl like her would would someday become the quintessential poster woman for the dreams of millions of Americans, especially those who proclaim that women have the ability to “do it all.” Sarah seems to be the prime example of a “do it all” woman. She has five children ranging in ages from less than a year old to old enough to join the military and serve in Iraq. Despite having a houseful of children and a husband (Todd) whose profession and recreation activities cause him to be gone for long periods of time, Sarah has managed to carve out a highly successful political career. She seemingly has done it all — and accomplished a lot at a young age; she’s only 44.
On top of everything, Sarah Palin is a physically attractive woman who has no qualms about using that piece of her packaging in pushing to reach her political goals. Thus, Sarah is: wife, mother, professional woman, leader and beauty queen all wrapped up in one person. She is, indeed, to many the “do it all” woman of the 21st century.
But when Palin was picked as the running mate for Republican presidential nominee John McCain, she left the small farm team in the Alaskan outback to join the major leagues of politics headquartered in Washington D.C. Her introduction to the nation created a shockwave of response that over-shadowed both presidential candidates and placed the spotlight of scrutiny directly upon Sarah’s glowing face. National reaction to Sarah as vice president, and potentially president, was immediate. Everyone took sides. Old political playbooks were discarded while new ones were hastily written. The political conception of Sarah would play right into the hands of those sitting on the sidelines watching McCain struggle to find his political footing. Sarah was their savior.
Saint Sarah Palin
Leading that charge to elevate Sarah to sainthood was Phyllis Schlafly, the venerable leader of the largest organization of conservative women in the nation (Eagle Forum). Schlafly declared on NPR’s On Point program on Sept. 2, 2008 that McCain was not leading, but rather being led by the grassroots of the Republican Party. She spent much of her interview time extolling the virtues of the great Sarah Palin and how this woman has energized an otherwise dead constituency that is currently dragging McCain in the direction it deems best suited for the future of the GOP. The leader of the GOP’s future, as seen by Schlafly, is Sarah Palin, whose impact on the GOP Schlafly compared to the excitement brought by Ronald Reagan. Sarah’s selection as vice president is apparently being perceived as an opportunity for her and conservative Republican constituents to take over the White House. John McCain’s future, however, appears less certain.
The exploitation of Sarah
Despite being a newborn child on the national scene, Sarah was instantly coddled by complete strangers, held aloft as the salvation of our nation and proclaimed a leader that was well-prepared to run both the White House and the free world. Like a small-town girl who makes it big in Hollywood, Sarah Palin was set to meet her dream … and the looming undesirable destiny she helped create.
Unfortunately, like many young girls who seek the spotlight of fame and audience adoration, Sarah soon found herself victimized by her own pursuits, as she slowly began to realize that she was in over her head and being exploited by wolves lurking within a political forest of deception … a forest little Sarah couldn’t see while she was climbing up one tree.
Pretty Palin in Alaska
When Sarah entered the political arena as a city councilwoman for the tiny town of Wasilla in 1992, she had bigger dreams, including becoming the town’s mayor, which she did in 1996. She held that position until 2002. That’s when Sarah pursued bigger plans.
In 2002, Sarah campaigned for the office of Lieutenant Governor of Alaska. She lost. But her shot at the stars resulted in a landing on the moon. She became chair of the Alaska Oil and Conservation Commission from 2003-04. Then she leaped again into the political limelight, succeeding in being elected Governor of Alaska in 2006. She was the state’s first female governor … and its youngest.
Sarah Palin was on top of the world.
Sarah’s fame and fortune
But along with her meteoric rise to fame and fortune came raised doubts about her ability to lead. While Palin’s pals shrugged off numerous signs of problems, critics kept careful catalogs chronicling Sarah’s contempt for openness and honesty in public policy-making. Behind the scenes, Sarah developed a reputation as a mean-spirited antagonist, though her public image remained as pristine as the Alaskan wilderness.
When Sarah entered the national spotlight holding tightly to John McCain’s coattails, she brought with her more baggage than she could stuff into the overhead compartment. It soon spilled out onto the national landscape. Sarah’s immediate problems were: a pregnant unmarried teenage daughter, a hooligan that needed quick polishing into a gentleman, rumors of her newborn child actually being the child of her daughter, a state legislature that unanimously voted to investigate charges of abuse of power (a.k.a. Troopergate).
Before the GOP and McCain’s White House-controlled campaign could mitigate the problems it would encounter due to Palin’s political naivete, it would have to tamp down the rising concerns over her personal family problems and political turmoil in her state legislature and governorship. So, the campaign hid her.
Sarah sequestered from media
Sarah could smile and wave and give pretty political speeches accompanied by McCain, but the media was restricted from having unfettered access to her. Sarah was sequestered … and the media became increasingly angry about it. Something had to give.
When the GOP finally allowed Sarah to speak, it trotted her out on ABC in an interview with Charles Gibson. The result was a resounding, “What the …?” The GOP quickly pulled Palin into secret sequestering again and coached her. Then it presented the new Ms. Palin on the friendly Fox network, where she would meet with Sean Hannity, well known for his tirades on political issues and ability to rip a politicians to shreds. Hannity seemed neutered during the interview and played nicely with Palin the whole way through. Sarah’s husband Todd was getting similar treatment from Greta Van Sustren. The political ploy worked for a moment. The GOP faithful were as enamored with the Palins as the host of Fox programs. But the national media wanted an opportunity to ask its own questions. And the clamoring to “Free Palin” began to get noisy.
Finally, the GOP relented and responded to mounting pressure to present Palin before a larger audience and subject her to the vetting of experienced journalists rather than biased pundits. They opened the door a slight crack to give CBS’s Katie Couric an opportunity to chat with Palin.
Palin’s pitiful performance
This time, the GOP “coaches” were hoping their girl would flash that brilliant smile and cross her legs a couple of times while softly muttering a filibuster of cliches that would disarm Katie and get her off point. Unfortunately, Sarah was out of her league. Katie Couric, America’s beloved news anchor and former standout at NBC’s TODAY Show, is a veteran of political tricks with media.
The soft filtering of the cameras to make Sarah more appealing was something Katie had seen often in her career. The playful chat before discussing real issues was commonplace for Katie. But when it came down to asking tough questions, Katie didn’t get to be where she is today by merely making men and women gush.
Sarah was out of tricks. She was face to face with a real journalist who delivered a real knockout blow with one real question:
Couric: You’ve said, quote, “John McCain will reform the way Wall Street does business.” Other than supporting stricter regulations of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac two years ago, can you give us any more example of his leading the charge for more oversight?
Palin: I think that the example that you just cited, with his warnings two years ago about Fannie and Freddie - that, that’s paramount. That’s more than a heck of a lot of other senators and representatives did for us.
Couric: But he’s been in Congress for 26 years. He’s been chairman of the powerful Commerce Committee. And he has almost always sided with less regulation, not more.
Palin: He’s also known as the maverick though, taking shots from his own party, and certainly taking shots from the other party. Trying to get people to understand what he’s been talking about - the need to reform government.
Couric: But can you give me any other concrete examples? Because I know you’ve said Barack Obama is a lot of talk and no action. Can you give me any other examples in his 26 years of John McCain truly taking a stand on this?
Palin: I can give you examples of things that John McCain has done, that has shown his foresight, his pragmatism, and his leadership abilities. And that is what America needs today.
Couric: I’m just going to ask you one more time - not to belabor the point. Specific examples in his 26 years of pushing for more regulation.
Palin: I’ll try to find you some and I’ll bring them to you.
Thanks to CBS’ Katie Couric, perhaps now the McCain campaign, the White House and the GOP can turn its attention to finding a real vice presidential candidate. The hypocritical instant adjustments made by the GOP’s conservative women in order to broaden its definition of conservative family values to accommodate Sarah Palin’s problems seem moot now. Palin is past her prime already. But such is life in the limelight.
The pimping of Sarah Palin is truly a lesson about what happens to those who sell their souls to gain the world. The world may love you, if only for a moment. But why does it love you? Because it can, at that moment, exploit you for its own gain.
I am reminded of what Jesus asked with regard to such a sale:
“What good will it be for a man if he gains the whole world, yet forfeits his soul? Or what can a man give in exchange for his soul?”
Matthew 16:26 (NIV)
Meanwhile, John McCain himself will sit back and enjoy the chaos he caused when he decided to exploit the governor of Alaska. Nice work John. Pimping that pretty princess as vice president was a stroke of genius for the man who has sought to sink his White House-controlled presidential campaign. What will Bush and the GOP do now to save your butt while you smile?
Posted on September 26th, 2008 by MikeGreen
Filed under: Election 2008
Thank you for the very well written, factual posting. I admire your ability to present the material so well. I get too emotional when referring to Ms. Palin.
I took the afternoon off from my job and picked my daughter up from school to attend a Geraldine Ferraro rally when she was running for VP. I was so proud that a woman had this chance! (I was also very disgusted when the first George Bush talked about “kicking her ass”.
I put my kids first, at least when they were young. I read to them every night and helped them with their homework and did many things to better their chances to be successful adults. I was far from perfect, but I took responsibility for them. All but one earned a college degree. (And that one became a S&L office manager.)
At work I competed for jobs that previously had been reserved for men. I got them and did them successfully. At work, I used my femininity to nurture, not to titillate. I used what power I had to make it easier for others to do their jobs, dispassionately assessing their strengths and weaknesses - not whether or not I liked them. I suffered under several managers who used their power for their own convenience, not for the over-all good.
So you see, Sarah Palin really pushes my buttons. I really think that Republican leaders think they can control and manipulate her. I think she is too strong willed for that and, if elected, will set back the Women’s Movement 75 years.