The Villification of Sarah Palin
There has been much made of Sarah Palin's wardrobe lately. The GOP and McCain camps have started shelling her for the huge amount of money that was spent on their pick for Veep. They are capitalizing on the animosity towards Palin from the media at large and the left specifically. It's a reasonable strategy considering how badly the campaign was conducted and how disastrous the results were. Then there is the news that Palin may have been distancing herself from McCain in order to set up her own run in 2012. Either way, they're hanging her out to dry. Pretty typical when something goes that wrong. I'll admit that I buy the hype. I usually do. But Sarah Palin was not at fault for the campaign going horribly wrong. The McCain camp picked her and was wrong to do so.
I have a hard time believing that she didn't know that Africa is a continent. It remains to be seen if that is actually true. In the end, who cares? She's here now, so let's deal with it. To me she was vastly unprepared to be where she was thrust so quickly. It would be unfair to judge her in 2012 by what we know now. I do believe that she is very smart. The problem I have is that she was unable to answer some very simple questions on the fly during a few key interviews. I am also troubled that someone who is married to a possible secessionist might be our president. It troubles me because it indicates that there will be an influence on national decision making that thinks that isolation is the answer. People with that mindset have a narrow worldview, which is no way to operate. A good friend pointed out the secession part of it to me and he also mentioned how Sarah Palin could not name one publication that she reads. She doesn't read? How does she learn anything? It points to a lack of intellectual curiosity that not only confuses me, but scares me a little bit.
Update: If it wasn't clear, I don't think Sarah Palin is the reason that the GOP ticket lost the election. I was reminded today of the desperate need for reconciliation between the left and the right by Jim Wallis at God's Politics. Thanks for the perspective, Jim!
Update #2: Andrew Sullivan over at the daily dish is passionate that Sarah Palin is still relevant. Read this to understand why. Good stuff.
I have a hard time believing that she didn't know that Africa is a continent. It remains to be seen if that is actually true. In the end, who cares? She's here now, so let's deal with it. To me she was vastly unprepared to be where she was thrust so quickly. It would be unfair to judge her in 2012 by what we know now. I do believe that she is very smart. The problem I have is that she was unable to answer some very simple questions on the fly during a few key interviews. I am also troubled that someone who is married to a possible secessionist might be our president. It troubles me because it indicates that there will be an influence on national decision making that thinks that isolation is the answer. People with that mindset have a narrow worldview, which is no way to operate. A good friend pointed out the secession part of it to me and he also mentioned how Sarah Palin could not name one publication that she reads. She doesn't read? How does she learn anything? It points to a lack of intellectual curiosity that not only confuses me, but scares me a little bit.
Update: If it wasn't clear, I don't think Sarah Palin is the reason that the GOP ticket lost the election. I was reminded today of the desperate need for reconciliation between the left and the right by Jim Wallis at God's Politics. Thanks for the perspective, Jim!
Update #2: Andrew Sullivan over at the daily dish is passionate that Sarah Palin is still relevant. Read this to understand why. Good stuff.
If Palin runs for President in 2012, at least she has name recognition going for her... but that may not work in her favor
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