So Long, Sarah!
"In the future, everyone will be famous for 15 minutes."
Andy Warhol
Three years ago, less than one percent of the American people would have recognized the name Sarah Palin. Since that time she has been elected Governor of Alaska, been the Republican nominee for Vice President of the United States, and resigned as Governor. In her spare time, she has blown away a caribou and other innocent animals. (Like the last Republican Vice President, she is an avid hunter; but unlike him, her victims, so far, have all been animals.) She is one of the most famous women in the world.
Sarah Palin embodies a number of contradictions. Although a college graduate (University of Idaho, 1987), she clings to working-class speech patterns ("You betcha!"). Although the nominee of the party that embraces traditional marriage, her unwed daughter got pregnant at 17. She seems to have one foot in the Governor's Mansion and the other in the trailer-park.
Mrs Palin won kudos for her acceptance speech at the 2008 Republican National Convention, and drew huge crowds on the campaign trail. She went far beyond John McCain in lambasting Barack Obama, asserting that "he pals around with terrorists." (1) While firing-up the GOP base of white evangelical Protestants and gun-advocates, her strident style turned-off moderates and independents.
Sarah Palin's biggest problem was how to handle unscripted appearances, such as interviews and the Vice Presidential Debate. Her interview by Katie Couric showed a shallow understanding of national issues, and some of her responses during the Debate were not pertinent to the questions asked. (2) Had she become Vice President, she could have easily performed the largely ceremonial duties of the office, but voters were rightly troubled by the prospect that she might become President. Even atheists would have prayed for President McCain's health. Even so, she received more electoral votes than any other woman in American history. (3)
By leaving the office of Governor of Alaska about 18 months before the end of her term, she has probably blown any chance she might otherwise have had for the 2012 Republican Presidential nomination. If she could not stand the rigors of the Alaska job for a full four years, how could she cope with the far greater stresses and frustrations of the American presidency for four years? Some ex-governors have been nominated, but all finished their terms of office. (4)
Although no longer in public office, Sarah Palin will remain on the public scene for many years. She is working on a book, plans to campaign for Republicans in 2010, and may land a lucrative TV or radio talk show gig.
F Scott Fitzgerald famously remarked that "there are no second acts in American lives." But then, Fitzgerald never could have met Sarah Palin.
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(1) Obama accepted support from (and served on some boards with) Bill Ayers, who had been a violent radical during the Vietnam War. Although she used the plural term "terrorists", she never named another one.
(2) When asked under what circumstances the US should use nuclear weapons, Mrs Palin replied that rogue regimes should never be allowed to have nuclear weapons. Apparently, she did not understand the question.
(3) Geraldine Ferraro received 13 electoral votes for Vice President in 1984. Although several other women have run for President and Vice President on minor party tickets, none ever received any electoral votes. (The first woman to seek the presidency was Victoria Woodhull in 1872, before women could even vote!)
(4) Jimmy Carter and Ronald Reagan were both ex-governors when nominated for President by their parties. Both had completed their terms. ( Adlai Stevenson was also a former governor at the time of his second nomination.)
Many incumbent governors have been nominated, including Presidents George W Bush, Bill Clinton, and Franklin D Roosevelt.
Andy Warhol
Three years ago, less than one percent of the American people would have recognized the name Sarah Palin. Since that time she has been elected Governor of Alaska, been the Republican nominee for Vice President of the United States, and resigned as Governor. In her spare time, she has blown away a caribou and other innocent animals. (Like the last Republican Vice President, she is an avid hunter; but unlike him, her victims, so far, have all been animals.) She is one of the most famous women in the world.
Sarah Palin embodies a number of contradictions. Although a college graduate (University of Idaho, 1987), she clings to working-class speech patterns ("You betcha!"). Although the nominee of the party that embraces traditional marriage, her unwed daughter got pregnant at 17. She seems to have one foot in the Governor's Mansion and the other in the trailer-park.
Mrs Palin won kudos for her acceptance speech at the 2008 Republican National Convention, and drew huge crowds on the campaign trail. She went far beyond John McCain in lambasting Barack Obama, asserting that "he pals around with terrorists." (1) While firing-up the GOP base of white evangelical Protestants and gun-advocates, her strident style turned-off moderates and independents.
Sarah Palin's biggest problem was how to handle unscripted appearances, such as interviews and the Vice Presidential Debate. Her interview by Katie Couric showed a shallow understanding of national issues, and some of her responses during the Debate were not pertinent to the questions asked. (2) Had she become Vice President, she could have easily performed the largely ceremonial duties of the office, but voters were rightly troubled by the prospect that she might become President. Even atheists would have prayed for President McCain's health. Even so, she received more electoral votes than any other woman in American history. (3)
By leaving the office of Governor of Alaska about 18 months before the end of her term, she has probably blown any chance she might otherwise have had for the 2012 Republican Presidential nomination. If she could not stand the rigors of the Alaska job for a full four years, how could she cope with the far greater stresses and frustrations of the American presidency for four years? Some ex-governors have been nominated, but all finished their terms of office. (4)
Although no longer in public office, Sarah Palin will remain on the public scene for many years. She is working on a book, plans to campaign for Republicans in 2010, and may land a lucrative TV or radio talk show gig.
F Scott Fitzgerald famously remarked that "there are no second acts in American lives." But then, Fitzgerald never could have met Sarah Palin.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
(1) Obama accepted support from (and served on some boards with) Bill Ayers, who had been a violent radical during the Vietnam War. Although she used the plural term "terrorists", she never named another one.
(2) When asked under what circumstances the US should use nuclear weapons, Mrs Palin replied that rogue regimes should never be allowed to have nuclear weapons. Apparently, she did not understand the question.
(3) Geraldine Ferraro received 13 electoral votes for Vice President in 1984. Although several other women have run for President and Vice President on minor party tickets, none ever received any electoral votes. (The first woman to seek the presidency was Victoria Woodhull in 1872, before women could even vote!)
(4) Jimmy Carter and Ronald Reagan were both ex-governors when nominated for President by their parties. Both had completed their terms. ( Adlai Stevenson was also a former governor at the time of his second nomination.)
Many incumbent governors have been nominated, including Presidents George W Bush, Bill Clinton, and Franklin D Roosevelt.
Labels: "Sarah Palin"
posted by Gerald S Glazer at 4:57 PM
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