I know I'm not alone!
As many Americans currently are, I too have been reading up on Sarah Palin lately - and I too am trying to put a finger on what exactly it is about her that has drawn so much attention, good and bad. What exactly is Sarah Palin's place in this maddening campaign season? In other words, what does Governor Sarah stand for in the grand scheme of things (think macro, not micro)? We know she is young. We know she is a woman. We know a lot of her beliefs (I think). We know about her rise in politics and her mysterious inner sanctum of die-hard supporters who would douse their beloved Governor with their own bodies if she were ever on fire. But how is it that someone who is never secluded can be so heavily guarded? What do we really know about the Alaskan Governor? And furthermore, what are we about to find out?
From what I can put together the good attention comes from those who need it: The far Right. They're looking for a ray of light; hope, if you will (sorry, Obama, I know that is your favorite word). It is a hope sought by evangelicals and lifer conservatives that their beliefs are still America's beliefs - and that they are still in the right and in power. It is a hope that electing John McCain, a left-leaning Republican with various stances on what conservatives see as the most important issues, is still justifiable to the GOP base. Perhaps even a hope that Senator McCain will work the White House lawn as a senile old man walked daily by his trustworthy understudy with all the real power, Gov. Palin herself. And I understand this fundamental hope from the right, because it is through Governor Palin that red-blooded conservatives see the change they need without change to what they want. It is a new face to what they have always desired: anti-abortion laws, small government, financial freedom, and a synergy of church and state. The only difference isthat the mantle will carry a picture of a hockey mom rather than a card-carrying member of the Elks club. Think of it like a breath of fresh air, tainted only slightly by carbon emissions and the rotting corpses of polar bears.
Having said that, herein lies the criticism of the overly fascinated Left, as well as the media - the criticism that everyone is looking for dirt, looking for a way to pigeon hole Sarah Palin and downgrade her accomplishments. But who's fault is the categorization of Governor Palin? You can't say she has done very well for a woman because that would be an extremely sexist statement, but the fact remains she has climbed the political totem pole faster than any woman in the history of our Country. Yet, you cannot say she has done well for women because the beliefs she holds are contrary to most mainstream ideals of gender equality brought about by the women's liberation movement. And even more frustrating is that you can't even simply done well during her time as Governor, as we're finding out daily that she has not in fact done nearly as well as we were originally meant to believe from the McCain campaign (see: "Bridge to Nowhere", Ebay salesmanship, state budget cuts, or lack of foreign policy knowledge and/or experience). So really, pundants are left with no choice but to say she is "fierce" and leave it at that.
But what should Democrats really say? What do Democrats in America make of Sarah Palin? She is easy to criticize, yet impossible to question. She is scary as hell, yet pretty and loved. She is clearly savvy and resourceful, yet reads at a sixth grade level and spent six years in five different schools before earning an undergraduate degree (University of Hawaii at Hilo, Hawaii Pacific University, North Idaho College, University of Idaho, Matanuska-Susitna College, and University of Idaho again). She makes Hillary Clinton look like Mother Theresa!
So maybe we don't know what Sarah Palin's place is this fall or how she would really manage the V.P. position, and we certainly don't know what exactly to say about her because she provides no beef to hungry reporters, or independent voters, let alone the Democrats that question her abilities in public. What we do know is her place is not the alongside the ideals of women's rights and should not be in the White House come January simply because John "The Maverick" McCain decided he needed to shake things up in his campaign for the press clippings. It is bad enough pedophiles get a free pass to assault and pillage in Wasilla, Alaska, we don't need to be raped here in the lower 48 - unless you want aborted...I mean...impeached, Sarah.
Thanks, but no thanks.
