Sarah Palin Steps Down---Does She Finally Get It?
Posted: Monday, July 27, 2009
by Sandra E. Graham
My Books and Articles
Sarah Palin resigned as Alaska's Governor on Sunday July 26, 2009 with promises of moving to a more visible "….stage…" to fight her political battles. She failed to identify just which stage to which she was referring. Possibly, she was referring to Saturday Night Live ????? Maybe she is hiring on as Tina Fey's stand-in? She would certainly reach a wider audience and I'm sure the pay would be much better.
In her resignation speech on Sunday, she stated that "….outside special interest groups still don't get it!" The outside interest groups are now thinking that maybe Sarah Palin finally does and that Palin was a big part of the ‘unproductive, lame duck status' to which she mentioned in her speech. She leaves office amid mounting legal bills, dwindling popularity, and a murky-at best-political future. Sarah Palin is no different from politicians who have come into the "ugly" side of politics since the beginning. No politician is immune to the media frenzy that breaks out when new faces move into the limelight-every politician has his/her closet. There is an old saying that Sarah must have missed: "If you can't stand the heat, stay out of the kitchen." And if you don't want your dirty laundry aired in public, don't get into politics.
Sarah Palin may have been a good governor, but when she threw her hat into the ring and allowed herself to become the Republican's ‘token' running mate, she became fair game for the darker side of politics-our government's own personal tar pit filled with the bones of promises unkept and American dreams unfulfilled. Will she "get it" now? Probably not.
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Top-level comments on this article: (7 total)Sandra,Interesting article; however, having been a standup comic, lecturer, and now entrepreneur / speaker, I know the great difficulties and challenges involved in being before the public. It is certainly not easy. And I don't know the entire story behind Palin (been way too busy with 14 hr. days setting my business for launch over the past year), and I know politicians can be self-seeking, underhanded people (Nixon a major example), but unless one is completely malicious, I have a tough time accepting criticism from armchair quarterbacks. Nothing against you personally (still love ya ;=), but I hope you can see where I'm coming from. Peace to you and yours ;=)So true. And you are entirely right, I am an 'arm-chair' quarterback and don't know the whole Palin story. But I do give her the benefit of a doubt as I said, I feel she may have been a good governor before she allowed the bigwigs to drag her down to their level. I'm just saying she should have been experienced enough to know what to expect from the media and its henchmen.Thanks for reading and commenting, Jeff.SandraYou're right on that note. Thanks for the clarification.
Hi Sandra,
I enjoyed reading your point of view. I have empathy for Sarah Palin. She is ambitious and was misled by those who should have known better than to catapult her in the position as running mate in a presidential election. I believe she convinced herself she could do it but her small world exploded. I hope she finally gets it and is blessed beyond measure as she pick up the pieces of her family life and career.Thank you, Avis. I have the same sentiments (although, I'm Democrat), I feel she was used by the republican party and not to further her future, but as a ploy that backfired. She was just a pawn--that's what I'm not sure she realizes even today.Thanks for reading and commenting.Sandra
The reason for a governor to stepdown during his/her term needs to be significant. I got the feeling she was preening for a presidential run.Great work, as always!That certainly appeared to be on her to-do list. I will be interested to see what her book will do for her, also.Thanks for reading and commenting, Ken.Sandra
Sarah Palin was thrown into the fray completely unprepared for the sharks, and she didn't help her cause by playing their game. Her resignation speech was very light on specifics, yet that seems to be the way politicians talk these days: just look at the news conference on health care last week from Mr. Obama.Still, in spite of everything, she was never given a chance. She brought a lot on herself, yet she was still skewered mercilessly.Nicely done.Thank you, Michael--nice to hear from you. You are absolutely right--she was thrown into the fray. And yes, that is the way with politics--have you ever heard a politician actually pin himself down with an absolute statement. Most often not.Thanks for reading and commenting and once again, thanks for the input.Sandra
Sandra, you still maintain the common sense approach. Thanks for those thoughts.And thank you, Dr. Clarence, for reading and commenting.Sandra
But Sandra, how do you really feel about Sarah ? You jokingly ( at least I guess that was a joke) about her going to SNL to reach a wider audience ... truth is her appearance on that show gave SNL their highest ratings in over a decade. Maybe they put her on so they could reach a wider audience.Her "tiring" speech which you say "smacked of a personal vendetta against the media, bloggers, and special interest groups that disagreed with her politics" and to suggest she should have expected it. Dear Lord do you hate the woman so much as to simply overlook the fact that she was the target of left-wing attacks to the degree NEVER seen before.Heat , yes but vicious lies ? constant legal jabs designed solely to occupy her time, resources, and energy. We should all be proud that a politician would consider the people over her own aspirations. But it has been awhile since we've seen one, so maybe we're not use to it.So how you liking that hope & change BS so far ? just curious.Yes, Michael, that was a joke--actually, I didn't know that Sarah had made an appearance on the show (or was it Tina?). I really have nothing against Sarah Palin other than I feel that she allowed the Republican's to use her. As I said, I'm a Democrat (mostly), but it is so hard to be totally one or the other since both sides have their good and bad points. Voting gets harder every year. Nothing has changed much since Roosevelt promised "to save us all"--we will end up again saving ourselves. I personally don't like anything about politics or politicians--they are just our cross to bear.Sorry I didn't have anything better or more pleasant to say.Have a great day, anyway, and all the best to you and yours.Sandra
When a boy decides he wants to become a boxer, he is fully aware he will have to absorb many blows in order to survive, just as the person who gets into politics knows they will suffer and need to overcome many personal verbal attacks.This stuff of Palin being "used" or a "target" is ridiculous. She knew, just as everyone else who follows politics, that being in the mix comes with heavy responsibilities and consequences...If people insist Palin was a victim, then that doesn't say much for her or those who say such things...Would we call someone a "victim" if they joined the Mafia and knew full well what that meant - that once they joined - they become THEIR property?!Similarly, when a person becomes a public servant they have become the property of THEIR PARTY...They know in advance they will be "used", "targeted", or "thrown in the fray."
When someone goes into politics it's like their conceding, "I know what will happen, but I want to do it anyway. I'm tough! - I can take it!"Everyone knows the evil world of politics, especially those preparing themselves for it...It's not anything new. Let's stop pretending like they don't know in advance...I see parents who are harder on their own children; kids who are inexperienced and get into things without their prior knowledge of the consequences, yet some of these same parents show more sympathy for a "knowing" adult.The difference between Sarah and others is in how she handled it...You don't quit when the going gets tough...It was the perfect time for her to step up to the plate and deliver...It was an OPPORTUNITY for her to prove herself and discredit her critics by working harder and saving face... You can't get by in politics by looking cute, saying catchy phrases, and/or faking it...Eventually you will be found out...
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