Saturday, August 30, 2008
Sarah Palin, Who Are You?
I have to admit to an enormous interest in Palin. Both as a person as a phenomenon — an unknown thrust on the public stage. It is out of a movie. Mrs. Palin Goes To Washington. Quayle was said to evoke “Who?” when chosen as VP. But he was in the Senate and had written legislation with Kennedy. Palin was in Alaska. The people in her town “were in shock”.
So I've read many of the big media representations, the wiki, watched some tv clips, to get some sense of this woman. Most commentators are taking a wait and see attitude. David Brooks said so far she looks good. Why wait? For what?
First, the look of Biden and Obama in their initial comments on TV about her presented a tableau that was almost funny. They looked as though their dog had just died. Obama was gracious and very winning in his moderate response. Of course, he is watching and waiting as well. But Barack is no longer the prettiest flower in the room. Palin's life story is more down to earth, her life experience more compelling than someone who has been dedicated as has Obama, to his bottomless ambitions. Not that this is a sin, but you want to feel people care about something beyond rhetoric and career.
Palin seems to be motivated to simply do things that will help. She was an active PTA mom, not for effect or advancement, but she sought to help the schools. She caught on to the corruption in Alaska early on and was fighting, really fighting against it. Unlike Obama, and very like McCain, she has stood up to her group. Over and over she challenged authority, no matter where it came from, to assert what she thought was right. Obama had two decades to say to pastor Wright, “Hey, I love some of the people in this congregation and the feeling of belonging, but you are handing out divisiveness and that is not what I am about. Publicly reject Farrakhan, stop the hatemongering about this country, and give us a break with the showboating.” Two decades and not a word from Barack, nor his wife; not a word nor deed to show any concern about his children being exposed to Wright's toxic fumes. When finally asked about it, Obama gave a speech explaining how his white grandmother was a racist and the problem with Wright was that he was old-style. This is only a slight exaggeration of the flaccid, feckless response given by Obama to the public. He condemned Wright under pressure and with reluctance.
Palin is very conservative and many of her views I'm probably not going to agree with. The thing that makes her very winning is that she seems to have some wiggle room. What you want: someone with strong personal beliefs, who walks the walk, but doesn't feel she or he has to impose them, because different people believe different things. That is the big question of course.
The NYT said in one profile that Palin had advocated teaching intelligent design in school. A disaster. But another article indicated that the next day she modified her statement, saying it should not be taught, but it was all right to discuss it. Her feelings about protecting the environment are also in doubt. But her advocacy of a pipeline in Alaska was to deter our dependency on foreign oil. Misguided, but for the right reasons.
Some are obsessed with race and like Obama for that single reason apparently. As a person Palin presents a source of energy, ambiguity (at this point), a funny Fargo accent, a righteous (in the best sense) individual; she appears to want things to be better, not in conventional adherence to liberal or conservative policy positions, but according to her common sense. One Republican in Alaska called Palin a liberal.