The Self-Sacrifice of Sarah Palin
Anyone who has read my column knows that I was not a fan of Governor Sarah Palin during the campaign. For the record, I am glad John McCain and Sarah Palin lost the election. However, as I have stated before, it is ludicrous to blame Palin for the mismanagement and lackluster performance of the McCain campaign – it is a cowardly way to protect your exposed flank.
A few days ago, it was reported that Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal turned McCain down when he was asked if he wanted to be vetted for the V.P. slot. My guess is that there were a lot of rising national G.O.P. stars that saw the McCain campaign as a sinking ship and did not want connect their political futures to the worst Republican rejection by the electorate in decades.
Governor Palin should be commended, not attacked, by the G.O.P. She had the guts to put her neck out and take one for the team. If McCain had a chance to win, the list of viable V.P. candidates with experience would have never included a first-term governor from Alaska. The bottom line is that the experienced people stayed out of harm’s way in 2008 while Palin took the bullet for the party. Sarah Palin deserves a medal, not a firing squad.
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9 Responses to “The Self-Sacrifice of Sarah Palin”
Sacrifice? I think perhaps you are mistaking service for ambition. It is clear that before her national debut she had little interest in the international affairs and the inner workings of basic government. Perhaps you are mistaking self sacrifice for ignorance.
If her intellect matched her ambition she would be Einstein.
I have a request to the people that are interviewing her… Please
JUST LET HER TALK. Talk Talk Talk.
Give her enough rope…
That's an interesting take on it. Given that Obama had a lead over McCain for quite a while before then, and McCain's campaign was struggling to stay afloat, it's hard to see why anyone would want to be his running mate. And yes, there was ambition involved. OF COURSE there was ambition involved. Every political transaction involves ambition. If you don't want the position at all, you probably don't belong in it. Anyone who says, “I have no ambition” is lying.
Um, yeah, she was 'brave' enough. Except I would use the words 'self-serving' instead. She had no business being on a national ticket, and she knew it, I am sure, and also knew that there was no real hope of winning. But is did get her noticed, but likely not the way she hoped. Now we get to see if the old adage that there is no such thing as bad publicity is true or not.
I will reiterate my stance, though, that we will never have to worry about her as a national candidate again.
I think there is a logical fallacy in your analysis. Tom Ridge and other qualified candidates would have run with McCain. If Palin had “blinked” and then realized she was not ready for prime time, McCain would have been forced to pick someone qualified.
Then when the economic collapse hit, he might have had someone with him who understood that to wobble and toss long and blind passes undercut McCain's “Experienced hands on the tiller” argument, which McCain made at the debates.
I also think that Palin, like anyone in Alaska, saw national exposure as a chance to get her and her family out once and for all. As Obama admitted, you don't run for office unless you have a big ego.
Self interest. Barracuda intensity in achieving power and all the accessories that come with it. She sees an opening and gnaws her way through. Self sacrifice? The only things Palin sacrificed were her family, her party and her country.
I don't know how she could have “taken one for the team” (or whatever) when she came out ahead- national recognition, more money (in potential media contracts) and more power. She also gained invaluable experience.
If only I could reap such benefits for “taking one for the team”.
Being VP isn't everything in the world.
Tony I can't add much except I don't think a medal is in order. Yes she took it on the chin for her party but at what cost? Divisive politics, the “anti-American” stuff, the “real America” stuff, the constant demonization and smear and fear that has become standard fare for Republican politics needs to evolve. If you've read much of Andrew Sullivan throughout this campaign, you'd get a categorical sense of what Palin was about, on a point-by-point basis. I don't congratulate that type of behavior and neither did the majority of Americans this time around, thank goodness.
This is what I think we should consider as a country: from Center for Inquiry:
“…Second, we recommend that vice-presidential candidates be selected by regional primaries and political conventions, not simply chosen by the presidential nominee. Three twentieth-century presidents died in office (William McKinley, Franklin D. Roosevelt, and John F. Kennedy) and were succeeded by their vice presidents. Although we think that Obama’s selection of Joseph Biden was a sensible choice, John McCain’s selection of the unqualified Sarah Palin was not. Clearly the present process is insufficient. In our view, the vice president should be selected by the public through the primary process rather than being the sole and autocratic choice of the candidate. Let the people decide!”
That's one I could say “amen” to.
If she wants to truly serve her country in the most patriotic fashion she'll go back to Wasilla and stay there. Let her surround herself with the “Real” Americans.
Palin represents the most dangerous type of candidate— the unqualified rabble-rouser who brings out the worst in her audiences. She has already proven to be a divisive, polarizing figure who has no problem sacrificing the most important thing we have–our unity.
I don't get why anyone even listens to her any more.
http://www.entertonement.com/collections/7257/R…