Atlantic piece on Sarah Palin

I think I just used the wrong word. What I mean is that she became a "politician" instead of an effective "elected official."

 

Don't get me wrong. I wouldn't hire her to run a lemonade stand. I think she's an unqualified imbecile. But the point of the Atlantic piece is that she did possess a set of strengths for them to run on, a set of strengths that could have potentially been sold as a strong answer to Obama, at least for a few months. Whether she still would have gone on to embarrass herself with Katie Couric and Charlie Gibson, I don't know. Probably. But I guess that's where the tragic flaw comes in. Hubris. Even set up to succeed, she still wouldn't have thought she needed to, for example, develop a working understanding of foreign policy.

 

I LIKE HOW SHE TYPES HER E-MAILS IN ALL CAPS.

 

She's still a cartoon character.

 

Yes, but for two years, she was the governor of Alaska, and, in line with the standards of that specific office, she acted competently until the VP nomination. That's what the article's about. I think "tragedy" is, while accurate, a bit too loaded to fit the subject matter.

 

She acted competently until the VP nomination? She used her 1.5 years as governor before the nomination to pursue a personal vendetta, beg for federal pork, and expense her personal cost of living to the taxpayer.

Bridge to Nowhere.

Troopergate.

Palin never ascended high enough for her fall to be deemed a tragedy.

 

To me, what happened to Palin is this: She conceived a disabled child and chose to continue the pregnancy. It was a choice in her personal life. But that personal-- not professional-- decision propelled her to the VP nomination. She claimed to be pro-life, and she backed it up. So golden for the McCain people. It made her the darling of the far right, which would defend her and exaggerate her credentials at all costs.

Her choice was one made every year by thousands of women from all walks of life. Bankers, lawyers, homemakers, scientists, janitors... all kinds of women. Are those women qualified to be vice president based on a personal choice?

 

Hence, my phrase "in line with the standards of the office." If you're not a crook or a swindler in Alaska state politics, then you're not really in Alaska state politics.

Also, I misused the word "competently." She abused power, while spending the vast majority of her time on budget issues and energy policy. Doesn't make it right. Doesn't mean that she spent 18 months plotting to wipe a trooper and Wasilla's top librarian off the map either.

I'm no Palin apologist. She's a farce that speaks without the clout to back it up. She avoids media scrutiny for bad reasons (that she could not handle it) while using more agreeable reasons (her family) as a half-excuse. What I've read of her books are awful, and I still have no idea where the pro-America part of America is. But I think many paint her as another Anita Bryant, when there's more substance to her, even if she herself has whitewashed it away.

 

Other than that, Mrs. Lincoln, how was the play?