Commentary by VA Guest Editor EKG
Whatever Sarah Palin's reasons for resigning her governorship, she has done herself irreparable political harm by quitting.
I was not a Sarah Palin fan. While I agreed with much of her political ideology (fiscal conservatism, low taxation, personal responsibility), I did not believe her folksy, "just an ordinary hockey mom" demeanor came across as someone I wanted representing the United States on the World Stage. I cringed at the idea of her world leaders although it did bring a smile to my face when I thought about her with the king of the Saudis or that misogynistic, dwarfish lunatic, Ahmadinejad. So far as her experience or lack thereof, I had no quarrel with that. She was far more experienced than the Left's Presidential candidate, a glib teleprompter-reader who'd never done anything other than attend the right college and law school (let's see his SATS and transcripts to see if he even did that with help), wrote a couple of books (one of which the literary experts say might have been ghosted for him by Bill Ayers, a talented writer), rabble rouse as a community organizer, campaign for and hold office. So far as the latter two accomplishments, he was singularly unspectacular once he got in office save for his exemplary oratory skills. Since taking office, his inexperience has surfaced and the economy has further tanked, joblessness is approaching depression era levels, and he's busily nationalizing banks, car companies, health care and bowing the the king of Saudi Arabia.
But though I was not a fan of Governor Palin's, when I heard she had resigned, I felt as though I had been punched in the gut. It may be that she has a scandal lurking out there somewhere; or perhaps the sixteenth ethics charge will stick; or that she's broke and can't afford to keep defending herself against these attacks; or even that the recent attack on her Down's Syndrome baby was more than she could bear as a mother and, knowing these attacks would not cease, she elected to protect her children. It is also possible she or one of her family recently received a medical diagnosis that would have made continuing in office difficult. There are scores of possibilities, and we can only speculate. That said, what caused her to resign is moot.
The vicious attacks on Sarah Palin from the Left are unprecedented in the United States, and that is why I got that sinking feeling in my gut. What we saw happen to her and her family reminded me of what happened to Tsar Nicholas II and his wife, children and servants on July 17, 1918. That was over ninety years ago, and we've advanced culturally. American Leftists no longer need to take a political enemy and his/her family out into the countryside and shoot them-they had the propaganda media (Couric, Gibson), fluff magazines (Vanity Fair), Party Politics (15 ethics charges since her nomination costing her hundreds of thousands of dollars to defend) and "entertainers" like David Letterman do it for them, with words, innuendo and character assassination. Less bloody, but it achieves the same effect. - EKG
I agree that Palin was treated unfairly by the media, although the criticisms of her at a political level were reasonable. But you undermine and diminish your argument by then making unnecessary attacks on Obama, which do not in any way help your key point - which is focus on policies, not personalities, and keep family issues and personal charcateristics and political differencies out of it. By taking these kicks at Obama, you justify what was done to Palin.
And her lack of experience was an issue. She lacked knowledge of the level at which she'd been operating. You rather acknowledge this with your comments about her on the world stage. A US Senator will have more credibility than a former mayor and short-time Governor.
My final point - Palin cannot unite the Right. To have even a chance in 2012 or 2016, the GOP needs someone less incendiary.
Posted by: Andrew Morris | July 06, 2009 at 05:55 PM