SARAH PALIN / WHAT NEXT?
Dave Cunningham / October 20, 2008
When she stepped on-stage at the GOP convention, many of us Dems sucked in our breath. She looked great! No, I don’t mean she was pretty, which by many accounts, she was/is! I mean, she was able to strike a chord with middle class voters. Her speech will be remembered. Not to speak too soon, but remember Reagan at the Goldwater/GOP convention or Obama at the Kerry/Dem convention? They were launched into the public eye. Reagan went on to the presidency and it looks like Obama will do the same.
Also, there can be no doubt that she is eyeing her next step. No, I don’t mean the vice-presidency under John McCain. There are too many reasons why that will not happen at this point, she being one of them. She has made a place for herself in the national political forum. Remember, she is in her forties, plenty of time to reinvent herself. Then look at what’s happening in Alaska. Ted Stevens, a “lion” in the U.S Senate is in deep doo-doo, as GHW Bush would say. His days in the Senate may be numbered, at this point. Who will be poised to step into the vacuum that will be created if he is forced out? Umm, let’s see . . . Sarah Palin? Right you are, Grasshopper!
Rush Limbaugh may have exposed his expectations about the upcoming election when, in a recent interview, he asked Palin what her future political plans were. If he actually believed that she was going to be the next VP, he would not have asked that question. Her options for the future are now expanded way beyond what she could have hoped for a few months earlier as an unknown governor of Alaska. Call me crazy, given her current status as bimbo-in-waiting, but I think that she has staying power.
Tina Fey of Saturday Night Live may have done Sarah the biggest favor of all. Although her portrayal of the VP candidate has been less than flattering, she helped put Palin on the map, and everything turned around when Palin, herself, was let in on the joke with her appearance last Saturday night on SNL.
In a recent NY Times article, we saw Sarah Palin with an enthusiastic following among men who think she is a “babe.” Take it a little farther to see that she speaks for a large segment of middle class voters with her “you-betcha’s, Joe-sixpacks, hockey-moms” homespun vernacular, and you have a future force to be reckoned with. Add a comparison to Hillary (remember Hillary?) and ask yourself, with all of Senator Clinton’s smarts and experience, who would you rather invite to your next house party?
Is Sarah Palin qualified to become Vice President? Probably, yes. I once saw a political cartoon that showed the job description for the vice-president in two words, “SIT, WAIT.” Is she qualified to step in as president right now? No one really knows the answer to that question. Back in Harry Truman’s day, there were few who thought he was qualified. However, when thrust into the office he became the decisive president who acted to win WWII.
But, will she be the next Vice President? I think not. There’s too much water over the dam at this point to believe that can happen.
Will she slink back to Alaska as the obscure governor she was? Afraid not, little buckaroo. We’re going to see and hear more from her in the years to come. I remember when I used to think that the Ronald Reagan of TV’s 50’s show, Death Valley Days and spokesman for GE Theatre, would never be president. Who would have thought that Barack Obama, an African American would be winning this election at this time last year? My guess is that not even he would have foreseen the present political landscape.
It would be foolish to write off Sarah Palin based on this political season. She’ll be back! Consider, “Senator” Palin. Consider an informed Sarah without the silly linguistics. Consider a popular, ambitious woman who has tasted the limelight and the possibilities. No, she isn’t going away. She has only just begun!
Front Runners, LLC 
I like Sarah Palin. I believe that she better understands the middle class in America. She faces challenges that many of us face. Some of these challenges are that her youngest child has Down Syndrome, daughters facing the financial challenges of college, daughter is pregnant, and her eldest son is fighting in Iraq for our American freedoms and rights.
Palin’s husband is just a union worker and thus under Barack Obama’s tax plan she is also considered middle class.
And everyone seems to criticize her because she is a woman. Everyday there is something negative on MSM about Palin. I give her respect for being such a strong and confident woman who comes from the middle class.
Palin has the opportunity to break that glass ceiling for women of all cultures all over the world, stopping the degradation and objectification of all women. I know that she is not a Washington insider, but I hope she wins and changes our world for the better.
I would rather have Hillary Clinton at my house party, hands down.
To Chels, I can only say that I agree with much of what you say. I was raised by a single mom. I have two daughters and three granddaughters. Given all that, I am a white male who is enthusiastically in favor of equal opportunities for women as well as minorities. Palin and Obama are, whether they want to be or not, symbols of each group. May I add that the criticisms being thrown at these two candidates have nothing to do with their sex or ethnicity. They are both good people, with limitations, inexpeience being one they share.
To Kathleen: Maybe it would have been better if I had said which of the two (Clinton or Palin) would you want to invite to a neighborhood block party?
Still Clinton…