By Alan Caruba
Watching the mobs of media folk chasing Sarah Palin’s bus resembles paparazzi chasing Lindsay Lohan more than anything related to serious politics in America. But, hey, if we were truly serious about politics, would we have elected Obama and Biden, or any of the other Leftwing loonies in Congress?
Fox News anchorette, Greta Van Susteran, hitched a ride with Sarah on a huge bus whose exterior is illustrated to demonstrate it is NOT a campaign bus, but just your typical family recreation vehicle as the Palin clan arrived in Washington, D.C., just in time for the Rolling Thunder motorcycle tribute to the nation’s fallen heroes.
Reportedly, Palin has not provided the mainstream media with an itinerary of her trip although we are told that she will head to Gettysburg at some point; probably right after having dined with—are you ready for this—Donald Trump.
While in Washington, she took her family to the National Archives to view the “foundation” documents on display. Something, frankly, every parent should do. My Father took me to the nation’s capital when I was a boy and we toured all the sites from the Lincoln Memorial to the Smithsonian. It’s not something one is likely to forget.
Palin, however, is beginning to sound like some windup doll where you pull the string and it spouts the same message over and over again. There’s no doubt that many on the Right welcome it, but at the same time it tends to sound trite after the fiftieth iteration.
I am among those who think that Palin will not take a run at the presidency. I think this bus tour has layers of reasons that include demonstrating her political viability, her potential kingmaker status, her “brand” to sell future books, and to prove she can draw a crowd anywhere in ways that the current crop of candidates cannot.
It is no accident she will be in New Hampshire the same day Mitt Romney officially announces his candidacy and you can imagine how thrilled he is about that! It also demonstrates the early lack of enthusiasm for most of the Republican field of candidates. That is not unusual. Things don’t begin to heat up until the Iowa and New Hampshire primaries.
Palin, though, despite all she has been through since John McCain picked her from the anonymity of being Alaska’s Governor, still cannot handle even softball questions. She can deliver a speech to audiences eager to hear all that good stuff about the Constitution, the Founding Fathers, and conservative values, but there is little indication, as Brit Hume, a Fox News analyst, recently observed, that she has “schooled” herself in the greater global issues of our times.
In the meantime, she has got the usual media mob trailing her bus around, intoxicated by the carbon monoxide fumes, and desperate to get a sound bite. It is Palin’s revenge for the way they normally savage her.
It is her Media Mockery Tour.
For my part, the notion of a President Palin borders on farce. It’s a lot like the Broadway myth, “You’re going out a youngster, but you’ve got to come back a star!” The 2008 campaign made Palin an instant star.
Everything she has done and said since then has maintained that status, but it is a theatrical term, not a political one. The media, Left and Right, is fascinated with her and she has coined that fascination with bestselling books, a television travel series, and well-paid speaking engagements; nothing wrong with that.
But President? Get real.
© Alan Caruba, 2011
16 comments:
On the other hand, could she possibly be worse than what we have now?
Maybe she's having dinner with the Donald to pick up a few tactics for her campaign.
He was pretty good at some issues - a tariff on anything made outside the USA, "You want our money? What do we get?", go stew in your own juices and the most important one - "Screw you (insert Arab leadership, Commies the world over, the press in general, those who are politically correct, etc.)"
There is plenty of room for disagreement, but I believe when the dust settles Sarah Palin will have proved she has exceptional fortitude, wisdom, discipline and determination to get the country back on constitutional track.
My hope is that people like you (with whom I so often agree) will keep an open mind.
You "get real."
We don't want another rino squish with no backbone.
How could she possibly do any worse than zero? Or numbskull newt? Or romneycare?
I grew up with Eisenhower and then Kennedy, and I haven't admired any U.S. President since (no, I found Ford authentic, and of a sound character that the country badly needed, and his pardoning of Nixon was what I would have done myself; I admired that). Undoubtedly, that says more about me than them: As I grew up, I put away childish things, including political parties and governmental elitism. A single leader of a "great" country is too much like a cult leader, ruling by "divine right" like the ancient kings. The President is just the country's biggest celebrity -- which starry-eyed reality I find too often at odds with his/her power -- and Palin at least projects a more authentic image than the current or recent Presidents.
@Sablegsd: I agree! I'd vote for Crusty the Clown if it meant getting Obami out of the Oval Office.
Another "How could she be worse?" Total ineptitude is no disqualification, obviously.
I'm very pessimistic about the fiscal/monetary future of the U.S. I'd hate to see some Good Guy have to eat the blame for what I think is coming.
If Palin's having fun and making money doing it? Hey, good for her!
I am sick abnd tired of the government telling me how to live my life by regulating everything in my life and taking my hard earned treasure to give to someone without any ambition. If she (Palin) could help to eliminate everything BHO and his ilk have done to us, and then some, then let her do it.
Hey Desertrat ... I've been voting my entire life, and I can only think of a couple times when I didn't have to cast my vote for the person I thought was the lesser of two evils. My vote for McCain was no exception. How sad is that?
There is something about our electoral system that scares normal, decent people away, and leaves us with nothing but professional power hounds and charlatans to choose from. If an honest, respectable, patriotic citizen ever made it through the media gauntlet and got on the ballot, they would probably win in a landslide ... and THAT, in my opinion, is why the left was so afraid of Palin, and why they pulled out all the stops to destroy her reputation. She was about to carry McCain into the Whitehouse. That's why he chose her ...
In my opinion, the job of President doesn't require a Harvard education or any sort of schooling in the affairs of State. There are advisers and cabinet people for that. It is a LEADERSHIP position. The faith of the people, a good moral compass and a strong backbone should be all that's necessary to do a good job.
We've been screaming for a fresh, untarnished candidate with an unfettered love of country for years, and when someone like Palin finally comes along, we allow the media to bash her over her "inexperience". I realize that the left-wing side of the media did most of the damage, but plenty of people on our side of the aisle have piled on too, trying to protect their own slice of the "power pie".
Palin has suffered the most brutal character assault I've ever witnessed, yet she endures, and is still in the running. What does THAT say about her? Her only mistake was accepting the invitation to run for VP. Being associated with a RINO like McCain really hindered her chances to win either position.
People keep whining about the choices we have, and begging for some sort of "super candidate" to come forward. I guess a decent, honest, patriotic, conservative, female doesn't do it for them.
What is it, exactly, that they're looking for? I certainly can't figure it out...
I’m glad to see Palin dishing out a little payback to the press. More candidates ought to snub them. During the campaign, Gibson, Couric and others were obviously setting her up during interviews while they played nerf ball with Obama. Sadly, she was naïve enough to think they were going to play nice. Unfortunately for her, she was unable to think on her feet and dodge the poison darts. Many of the gotcha questions should have been anticipated and a pre-rehearsed response should have been waiting in the wings. I like her in the respect that she did win a legitimate election for governor in her state and she governed well by most accounts. That in and of itself made her imminently more qualified than Obama. I like Palin as a down-to-earth working person and as a spark plug that can get a fire started in the belly. The trouble is that she hasn’t done a thing to prepare herself for a far worse onslaught than she got the last time. All you hear are the same apple pie and motherhood platitudes parroted over and over. Everybody is tired of it. There is no substance. The other thing that turns people off is her down-home cutesy idioms. She might just be a country girl, but if she is going to be President of the US she needs to come across poised, polished, informed, and ‘presidential’. She should lose the colloquialisms. All that said, between Obama and Palin, she has the better qualifications but she is still not ready for ‘prime time’. She won’t get the independents and without them any candidate is toast. I’m still waiting for a leader to step up to the plate who can talk and fire people up like she and Trump manage to do and knock Obama out. I’d like to see that imposter lose in a landslide. So far there is no one who is going to do it. They all have baggage.
The left's heads are turning into pink mist. Sarah (*SIGH*) is driving them to madness! GOOD! This is what she excels at. I am loving it. Actually, she'd not do a bad job, and she'd drive the left to madness. Your title, Media Mockery, is undoubtedly one of the best choices you could have made. Their frothing will allow serious candidates the opportunity to find out what the public really wants, and her endorsement will quite probably clinch the seat for whoever follows her ideas.
Guy in Ohio....very well said!!
"Guy in Ohio" is correct when he alludes to the vicious treatment of those who might run for office without the blessing of those "in charge". I have witnessed two friends try to run. Their lives were exposed and their families mocked for belief in a God-fearing world view.
I like her. She has the right principles and a good head on her shoulders and good political instincts. The technical issues can be learned or advised. Look at Obama: oh so smart: oh so educated: oh such wrong reflexes.
Palin for President!
The ONE thing I am sure of is:
I am greatful for Sarah Palin to make the left-bound-press go into idiocy mode...
I am not sure what her plan is or purpose, but I am very happy to see her
ON THE ROAD!!!
...she might be not a scholar or a Harvard graduate, but...
SHE DOES LOVE THE COUNTRY !!!!
...and it drives liberals out their wits!!!!
Thank you Sarah Palin!!!!!
Really? Sarah Palin is NOT the enemy. Unlike the America hater now in the White House, Sarah Palin loves America, and what it stands for. Your initial comparison with Lindsay Lohan is totally uncalled for. Her vigor, her ability to express her love, and the fact that she is not one of the ivory tower East Coast intellectual elitists allows her to connect with everyday Americans who work hard everyday to make a better life for themselves and their children. It's very disconcerting to read your attacks over the last few weeks on Ron Paul and Sarah Palin; 2 Americans who love the country, and what it stands for. I would be proud to support either in a run for the presidency.
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