Sarah Palin: Why Analysis From the Left -- And the Right -- Is Wrong

by: david bozeman | published: 07 17, 2009

After Michael Jackson, a major topic of national discussion is Sarah Palin's resignation. Supporters and detractors, all assuming she harbors presidential aspirations, have offered their verdicts, with Dick Morris and Karl Rove opining that she has blown it.

But therein lies the problem with political speculation -- the 'experts' view every human action through the prism of politics. Sarah Palin may well not want to run for higher office. She may well believe that her celebrity status hinders and not helps in her governorship of Alaska and deciding to step aside makes her not a quitter but a faithful public servant who puts her fellow citizens ahead of her own political expediency.

Something about Sarah Palin -- maybe her unpredictability -- ignites speculation in all who watch her. We've all heard the pundits advise that she should strengthen her resume, especially by adding foreign policy experience, before launching a presidential run. Oh, you mean like Barack Obama did? In Human Events even Ann Coulter, praising the governor as Conservative of the Year, wrote that Palin should sit out 2012, giving the same reasons as the rest of the chattering classes. As they say, with friends like these. . . Whatever the case, Sarah Palin, with her trademark guts and fortitude, will chart her own course. If she had listened to the 'experts' she never would have become governor in the first place.

To ponder any further, however, misses the point: no one knows what she is going to do. She may not even know. Furthermore, IT DOESN'T MATTER! Her spot in the pantheon of conservative greats is secure. The first woman president or vice-president will have to thank Geraldine Ferraro, Hillary Clinton and Sarah Palin for making her path somewhat less treacherous (though now one can rule out Clinton or Palin later). You know the rest: she targeted corruption within her own party, she is a strong advocate for tax relief, limited government and energy independence (and stood against Senator McCain on ANWR drilling), and her consistent support for life, given her pride in her youngest child, has inspired millions of special-needs children, adults and their families. In short, she is one of the few in political life who can afford to rest on her laurels. It's been a rough road, coast for awhile, Sarah! Besides, all this crystal-ball gazing detracts from what should be a deeper appreciation of the woman, her accomplishments and her values.

We conservatives have spilled millions of words analyzing public reaction to Governor Palin, particularly from the left. A single sentence from her July 3 announcement crystallizes not only the true Sarah Palin but a strain of snobbery not exclusive to the left but one of its trademarks, nonetheless. Palin said that she wanted to speak out for issues and individuals and, "You don't need a title to do that."

The Washington-media culture thrives on status and her mere existence exposes their innate elitism. The New York-Washington-Ivy League corridor is peopled with a fair amount of those who want to do important things, as well as those who merely want to be important people. Liberals, who have little faith in everyday Americans, glom onto charismatic politicians and career bureaucrats in the alphabet-soup world of regulatory agencies. Is anyone surprised that the suburbs of Washington, DC are among the nation's wealthiest?

Sarah Palin is a native of a world where title and status carry less currency than her first name. The notion that she, with a mere four-year degree from Podunk State, was nominated for the second highest office in the land, still enrages members of the PhD set who think their academic breeding trumps the pro-life, pro-gun, Christian-based bales of a state that, in terms of political and cultural significance, may as well be the moon. She is a living, breathing embodiment of the American ideal that ordinary Soccer Moms can not only run their own lives, they can serve in the nation's highest offices. It is not just Sarah Palin that liberals cannot stand, it is any American who doesn't need their compassion and counsel. She will continue to dominate public discussion, but the nonstop analyzing as to what liberals think of her misses the point, which is what do liberals think of all Hockey Moms and Joe Six-Packs? What do the liberals in Georgetown and the Hamptons and Beverly Hills really think of those who shop at Wal-Mart, who prefer Jeff Foxworthy and NASCAR to Woody Allen and NPR? Am I over-relying on cultural stereotyping here? Perhaps. Perhaps no conclusion is foregone, but one pertinent question remains: what do liberals really think -- of you?

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