I've been wanting to say this in a format that wasn't a forum post or website comment or tweet:
This is not Mr. Smith Goes to Washington. This is real life.
Sarah Palin proclaims herself just your average hockey mom who didn't really mean to get into politics. Personally, this is embarrassing. I don't want that image of Sarah Palin in office for the same reason I don't want you or I in office: we are not qualified. We are average Americans, and honestly, we don't belong in the white house. Those who make it through the intense vetting process should be more intelligent, dignified, disciplined, eloquent, and experienced than anyone else around.
That is not to say that a knowledge of what average Americans are going through is not a valuable tool. To be disconnected from the needs and issues affecting this country is a cardinal sin of public office. But there is a difference between claiming you are familiar with the needs of the public and claiming that you are part of the public. That you aren't outstanding. That you aren't distinguished enough for the highest public office. Because the vast, vast majority of us aren't. We aren't. You can't take an average hockey mom and put her in the white house and expect anything but failure. It's incredibly difficult and nuanced and demanding. I'm not going to bet the future of our nation that a random average person like this has a commanding knowledge of foreign policy and national security and the vague, complicated, and limited ties between government financial policy and the economy. It just doesn't happen.
So what is Sarah Palin? In reality, she is not quite as average as she portrays. She is at the very least an incredibly shrewd politician; undeniably smart and ambitious; unversed in national policy because of her incredible drive and focus on the job at hand.
The issue then lies in both the romantic desire of the American people to elect someone that reminds them of themselves, and the willingness of the candidate to distort her own personality to prey upon this desire. It preys upon our nation's contempt for education and intelligence.
Sarah Palin shows many of the traits that George Bush became famous for during his executive tenure: willingness to blur the separation of church and state; cronyism; ties to lobbyists; lack of intellectual curiosity; unwillingness to change her mind, and even hide evidence of the truth to get her way. These are the things people should be looking at.
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6 comments:
Excellent, Jared. I hope to have time to respond to this and your other comment tonight.
hm. you make some good points. i wouldn't want my next door neighbor sitting in the 2nd most powerful office in the world...
this is not to say that i think obama is any more qualified in foreign affairs...
jess: he's a bit more qualified. His undergraduate was political science with a focus on international relations, from Columbia. I know it's just undergrad, but it's a foundation. His work in the senate has also exposed him a bit.
My main concern with Palin is that people get distracted by the image she puts on as "just one of them" and don't evaluate her actual record. So it annoys me that she plays to that.
I don't always agree with you, but you usually give me something to think about. Thanks for that.
i understand your frustration. i don't think she's any more qualified than obama, but i am intrigued by her ability to turn john mccain's race around a bit.
sidenote: i was talking with some europeans last week in tokyo & their perception of palin is almost synonymous with their perception of hillary! isn't that crazy! they basically see two "obnoxious, overbearing career politicians". thought that was interesting.
I was talking (okay, typing) politics with Erin recently, and she directed me to your blog. I'm glad she did.
I agree 100% with your comments about Palin. The thought of her being a heartbeat away from the presidency and all that entails is terrifying to me. She has no experience.
McCain's selection of Palin as his running mate proved that the McCain of 2000 is completely gone. The McCain that once exuded integrity and "straight talk" sold his soul to win this election. Palin is no good for America, but she is good for his campaign. And that's all that's important to him. Sad. And scary.
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