I love an old joke told by Yogi Berra. The one about how a New York restaurant is always so crowded and hard to get into that no-one ever goes there anymore.
And so it goes with everyone's favorite person to talk about, Sarah Palin. Respected conservative commentator David Brooks (who I really like by the way) thinks she is "a joke". Brooks might think Palin is a joke, but it's Sarah who is the one laughing all the way to the bank these days.
Barely a year ago, Sarah Palin was a little known Governor from Alaska. Today she is the talk of the town - an American political celebrity, with millions of followers, huge influence, and lots of dough, with much more of it all to come. Take a look, for example, at the news stories of the day from Real Clear Politics website's eclectic collection. It's all about Sarah Palin. She's on the cover of Newsweek, in a very dazzling photo. The story lines are a mixed bag - "How Palin Can Win the GOP Nomination"; "How Do You Solve A Problem Like Sarah Palin"; "Why Sarah Palin Is Bad For the GOP"; "Palin Tells Her Side of the Story"; "Palin Braves Another Week of Bashing"; "Palin Image Is A Fraud"; "Sarah Palin: Rogue For President" - and that's just from one day of Real Clear Politics. She is on television with the Queen of T.V., Oprah, and with Barbara Walters. And on it goes. Palin, Palin, Palin.
This does not usually happen with people who are second on the ticket in a losing cause. I am not an expert on what has happened historically to failed Vice Presidential nominees but I would be surprised if many have had as much ink, and influence, as Sarah Palin (unless they subsequently ran for and became President).
Like her or hate her, Palin is a phenomenon. By saying this I am not pretending to say that she qualifies for being President, because she does not. I am not saying that she will become President, because she will not. I am not saying that I agree with all or even most of her views, because I do not. I was attracted to her freshness, her willingness to take on the establishment, her populism, and her courage and dignity in facing down the mocking sexism and viciousness which constantly greeted her, when she was on the McCain ticket. I thought then that McCain was the better suited of Obama or McCain to become President and I defended Palin because I thought she would help the ticket.
I continue to marvel at how this failed Vice Presidential candidate has not faded at all from the political scene, but in fact dominates it even more. She did not become Vice President, but she did not merely lick her wounds and retreat to Alaska. She continues to stare down her detractors and she continues to drive them crazy. As my mother always told me when I was being bugged by my older brother - "just ignore him". Advice to the Palin haters - why don't you try ignoring her?
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Lewis,
ReplyDeleteI would not call what Sarah Palin does "dominating the political scene". She doesn't dominate it any more than Theo Fleury dominates hockey. Every now and then she (like Theo) just occasionally makes some news. This month, we're hearing about her because of her book (much like Theo). To the extent that the media pays attention to her more generally, it is probably at least in part because of the incredibly boneheaded things she says and does.
I agree FWIW with David Brooks who has pointed out that Palin eschews not only conservative ideas, but ideas. And if I'm wrong, it seems at least fair to say that she is unenamoured of ideas. I would have thought that as a law professor this might bother you a bit more than it seems to.
As for McCain, I have listened to pretty much every apologia for Palin, but cannot escape the conclusion that McCain took a terrible risk in appointing her. It is one thing to appoint a running-mate who changes up the game, but it is quite another thing to appoint someone to the vice-presidency who is singularly unqualified to assume the presidency should that become necessary. I am not surprised that a serious conservative (Reagan's Sol-Gen, no less) and legal academic like Charles Fried cut bait when her geopolitical ignorance became manifest. In any event, Palin seems more probably to have been an anchor than a lifeboat for McCain. It's too bad - but he had much better people to pick, including some who didn't claim foreign policy insight from merely gazing upon foreign shores.
It is an incredibly depressing state of affairs for someone who thinks that conservative ideas are generally worthy ideas, when conservative "discourse" is dominated by people like Palin, Limbaugh, Beck and, for that matter, by dilletante conservatives who look at those ignoramuses and just decide for superficial reasons like "she helps the ticket" or "she's on Oprah" that they like the cut of their jib. While I don't include you among the "dilletantes", I will observe, given that such arguments have no more substance than much of the case that was advanced for electing Barack Obama, that I'm a little surprised to see you parroting them.
Russ
Lewis,
ReplyDeleteOn Aug. 14, regarding the continuing Sarah Palin publicity, you wrote (prematurely, as it turns out), that "I have moved on. Have you?"
I don't know why you stated that so combatively but, yes, I have moved on. When will you?
Ron
I guess I will move on when Palin is no longer the story and the subject of so much attention, generally negative attention. Who knew on Aug 14 that she would be an even more dominant figure on November 16?
ReplyDeleteLewis,
ReplyDeleteYou have to decide what your Palin message is. First you say her publicity is a "mixed bag", citing both positive and negative headlines. Now you say it is "generally negative." And, first, as Ron points out, you say you have "moved on". Now, instead of "moving on" (whatever that means), you are instead posting on your blog about Palin's supposed "dominance" of the political scene - a curious thing to say about someone who neither holds political office nor is seeking it. In fact, her latest activites suggest that her "dominance" of the political scene consists of helping to elect Democrats in upstate New York.
By the way, if this makes me a "Palin hater" in your eyes, so be it - although I will observe that this is a surprisingly unfair ascription coming from you who, I gather, has had to fend off what I'm sure are similarly unfair accusations of being an "Obama hater". As to "moving on", Palin's ineffectiveness in upstate New York, combined with her inability to focus on the job of governor to which she had been elected suggests to me that it is the Palin boosters who need to "move on", and not the supposed "Palin haters". I'm not holding my breath, though: Palin boosters rarely appear to be influenced by anything so elitist as evidence.
Russ
"even more dominant" Nope, don't think so:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.google.com/trends?q=sarah+palin
Now compare that index to her ideological soulmate and her younger, wilder and equally thoughtful almost-cousin's search index
http://www.google.com/trends?q=carrie+prejean
and Carrie has a book out too! How thrilling. She and Sarah can tour together. But based on popularity, Carrie gets top billing and the big font.