I sort of like John McCain, even though I’m not a fan of his politics. But Big Bad John did the country a huge disservice by plucking Sarah Palin from Alaskan obscurity and foisting her upon the nation at large. Her recent bizarre act—resigning her governorship just two and a half years into the only important elected office she’s ever held—once again raises the distressing possibility that one of the biggest nitwits of our time could actually become president of the United States.
Too many liberals have interpreted Palin’s resignation as political suicide and are smugly secure in the belief that she couldn’t possibly be taken seriously in the future after her bungling performance as McCain’s running mate, revelations over her dysfunctional family life, Tina Fey’s spot-on Palin lampoons, and walking away from the governor’s chair. I wish that was the case, but it isn’t. It’s true enough that Sarah Palin is a trailer-trash bimbo with less gravitas than any national politician since Dan Quayle, but let me remind everyone that the latter was, for four years, just a heartbeat away from the presidency. And let me also point out that one of the most mediocre minds in American political history, Ronald Reagan, served two terms and was a beloved figure for millions.
The sad fact of contemporary political life is that marketing and impression-management matter more than substance in our American Idol brain-addled nation. In real estate the term “parsley on the pig” refers to using strategic plantings to dress up a problematic property; in politics this is done all the time. Could Sarah Palin be covered in parsley in time for the 2012 election? You betcha. We’ve already the parameters of such a scheme: Palin the maverick, Palin the plainspoken, Palin the woman of faith, Palin the loyal wife, Palin the glamorous…. And let’s not discount Palin the white. She came out of nowhere in 2008 and not even the cleverest image-makers could hide the parsley in just eight weeks. Now they’ve got plenty of time.
The best hope for Sarah Palin’s political demise rests with her own party. Perhaps the Republican National Committee will pull the plug in favor of someone more politically skillful. Don’t bet the farm on that happening. The RNC has a track record of opting for opportunism over the national interest. How else are we to explain other names bandied about for 2012: the lightweight Bobby Jindal; the grossly ambitious Tim Pawlenty; and Mitt Romney, a man oilier than Jiffy Lube?
Palin’s resignation is nothing to celebrate. Be afraid; be very afraid.
Too many liberals have interpreted Palin’s resignation as political suicide and are smugly secure in the belief that she couldn’t possibly be taken seriously in the future after her bungling performance as McCain’s running mate, revelations over her dysfunctional family life, Tina Fey’s spot-on Palin lampoons, and walking away from the governor’s chair. I wish that was the case, but it isn’t. It’s true enough that Sarah Palin is a trailer-trash bimbo with less gravitas than any national politician since Dan Quayle, but let me remind everyone that the latter was, for four years, just a heartbeat away from the presidency. And let me also point out that one of the most mediocre minds in American political history, Ronald Reagan, served two terms and was a beloved figure for millions.
The sad fact of contemporary political life is that marketing and impression-management matter more than substance in our American Idol brain-addled nation. In real estate the term “parsley on the pig” refers to using strategic plantings to dress up a problematic property; in politics this is done all the time. Could Sarah Palin be covered in parsley in time for the 2012 election? You betcha. We’ve already the parameters of such a scheme: Palin the maverick, Palin the plainspoken, Palin the woman of faith, Palin the loyal wife, Palin the glamorous…. And let’s not discount Palin the white. She came out of nowhere in 2008 and not even the cleverest image-makers could hide the parsley in just eight weeks. Now they’ve got plenty of time.
The best hope for Sarah Palin’s political demise rests with her own party. Perhaps the Republican National Committee will pull the plug in favor of someone more politically skillful. Don’t bet the farm on that happening. The RNC has a track record of opting for opportunism over the national interest. How else are we to explain other names bandied about for 2012: the lightweight Bobby Jindal; the grossly ambitious Tim Pawlenty; and Mitt Romney, a man oilier than Jiffy Lube?
Palin’s resignation is nothing to celebrate. Be afraid; be very afraid.
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1 comment:
You point out the similarity to Reagan, which is important....
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