Sarah Palin Superstar
Was there anything of substance at all in Sarah Palin's speech last night about the great problems of our day? I heard very little. But not to worry ...
NRO's K-Lo was reduced to tears. It's like she was a teenage girl witnessing a Beatles concert in the early 60s. She writes:
I’ve not cried during a political speech since the pope and George W. Bush met on the South Lawn of the White House earlier this year.Pull out the smelling salts! K-Lo just might faint. Such transcendence! Superstardom!
The GOP has their superstar. Hopey change-itude comes to the GOP. Forget experience, knowledge, awareness of issues, or even concern for issues: just feel the love.
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2 comments:
I'm not yet sold on Palin, as I have questions about some of her actions as governer of Alaska. She was instrumental in getting a windfall profit tax saddled onto Alaskan oil companies, who now (between taxes and royalties) are forced to give close to 70% of the value of each barrel of oil to the Alaskan government. That's not my idea of a small government conservative, although she certainly knows how to talk the talk, which is refreshing to hear (let us not forget, a big part of the reason the GOP lost so bad in '06 was because they had asshats like Tom DeLay telling conservatives that the size of the government had already been reduced about as far as it could be). I am encouraged by her rhetoric, but skeptical of her
That said, as the Vice-Presidential nominee, she isn't responsible for creating policy, so I don't think anyone expected her to come out with a laundry list of things she wants to do. McCain will need to do that tonight, though.
Ultimately, she was introducing herself to America, making a case for John McCain, and contrasting herself against their opponents. She did these things exceedingly well.
The bottom line for me is that this Presidential election is full of horrible options. Too late to do anything about that other than to pick the lesser of the available evils.
Eric - Good points. I just find it exceedingly ironic that the GOP has mocked the inspirational quality of Obama's candidacy, and yet seem to be very much moved by the same kind of inspirational quality that they find in Sarah Palin. Because I appreciate what inspiration can do for people, I can understand why GOPers would be so moved by her. But it makes conservative criticism of the attraction of Obama ring hollow. Give the GOP its own superstar and you'll find similar kinds of visceral personal reactions to that "celebrity" beyond any sense of actual policy positions, awareness of the world, or governing strategies. You mention the windfall profits tax that Sarah Palin supported; but that seems to be of little consequence to what motivates conservatives to embrace her. I have heard over and over how liberals are driven by emotion and not reason, but then I watch how emotional and irrational conservatives are with Palin, and how unconcerned they are with some of the details of her governing record, and I just can't believe that they are really and truly antithetical to the importance of inspiration.
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