As Camille Paglia said – Palin is a natural.
Which is one reason why -for some- she must be destroyed.
A politician who has the ability to laugh at himself, and to convey a sense of being completely comfortable in his own skin, is a politician who brings with him the intangible, unmeasurable gift of touching people where they live, in their gut. And that makes people feel safe, and reassured. As we saw in the last election, marketing and PR can certainly persuade. But if people have a choice between slick-but-cool enigma, or a something warm and safe, they’ll take warm and safe, every time.
That’s the other reason Palin must be destroyed.
William Shatner, by the way, was brilliant, too.
This made me laugh. It really is funny.
“Natural” is the word for it. She has it, and Obama doesn’t. I doubt you would ever see him doing something like this, and he just wouldn’t be as … well, natural.
It’s moments like these that will quickly ( I think) undo the damage the Leftist smear campaign did to her reputation.
Oh, that was wonderful!! Thank you very much. I totally love her indomitable spirit.
Oh, and they LOVE her.
I have never seen Shatner so plecked out, without a clue. (well, he’s rent a wreck any more…) And Sarah is so on top of everything. Gracious & Lovely.
SaRah!
no, she is too NewAgey and that would be why she shouldn’t be racking up the points with Christians, who seem to drop their attachment to Jesus for any compelling personality who handwaves and mutters the right dogwhistles in their direction.
it is uncanny how identical the Palin-worship is to the Obama-worship. each group of worshippers saying the same things about how their person is a natural and hyper talented &tc, but that Obama/Palin is horrid, unnatural, a poster, etc.
People love Sarah because she is like them; she mirrors their anxieties, she reassures them of their own standing, she shares their bitter resentment of a shadowy claque of “elites”; Elites that are not the banking elites, the corporate elites, the moneyed class that pulls the strings on Wall Street and Washington.
The Elite class of her rage is something just-out-of view… never exactly specified, but possibly including illegal immigrants, those who say Happy Holidays, those who ask us to press 1 for English, college professors, gay people, childless working women, unwed mothers (strike that!) some unfocused group that while fuzzy and undefined, is definitely, surely, out to harm America, to destroy all that is good and righteous and proper.
There is no Palin Doctrine that is any different than the Huckabee Doctrine, there is no Palin Vision of the economy that has the slightest difference from the Romney Vision. For that matter, the Palin Plan for Afghanistan is virtually the same as the Obama Plan.
Sarah doesn’t need to speak in specific ideas, or encapsulate positions of how government should behave, because Sarah IS the movement, she herself IS the personification and embodiment of all that is good and righteous and proper.
The fact that she is a Mom, and wears Carhardt jackets and makes dinner for her family is all we need to know about Sarah; She is like us, and we are good, and were she in power, the dark forces would be vanquished.
Hilarious. She is much more comfortable now. Shatner seemed fixated on her looks or something.
She has it, and Obama doesn’t.
More and more folks are beginning to see that President Cool ain’t so cool after all.
I will admit though that, dull as a stump as he is, I’ve seen Algore be rather funny at times, like his Vice Presidential Action Rangers, and even mocking his global warmism.
Shatner, Palin and Limbaugh are buddies. They’re not afraid to take negative energy and poke fun at themselves in order to diffuse it. Great fun.
I was so relieved to find out how smart she is. I was sending her $ each month on a credit card before I found that out.
Liberty60,
If you read her book, you would know that Sarah represents government that is about serving the people. She tackled serious government corruption in Alaska.
People like her because she lives her pro-life ideals. (nice touch making fun of her daughter). Don’t you get that she lives what she believes? All the other politicans just say what they think people want to hear.
It is not just a cult of personality. It is about independence from moneyed special interests that donate equally to both parties for their interests (not the public’s). One can respect her appeal and still be aware of her faults.
I’m really getting tired of people comparing the appreciation that many of us feel for Gov. Palin’s gifts and talents with the Messiah adoration that continues to follow Barack Obama.
Please, get back to me when the school children start being taught songs of devotion to Sarah Palin. When I go to my church’s Christmas bazaar and find it wall-to-wall with idolatrous images of Sarah Palin the way it was last year regarding Barack Obama, then I might have some concerns.
When an adoring media starts casually comparing her without irony to God, then let’s raise some red flags.
And when pictures of Sarah Palin with halo imagery become the norm, then we might have a problem.
But now? There is no problem with regard to the affection that many of us feel toward Sarah Palin, based on her character and her values, and particularly in response to the awful treatment she’s been given since her emergence on the national stage last year. People were also once quite fond of another great politician: Ronald Wilson Reagan. No cults were formed; no churches were founded.
The Obama adoration, on the other hand, is a very real, very creepy phenomenon, and it’s ickiness and danger (the danger it represents of ever-encroaching totalitarian creep) is not equaled in the mirror phenomenon of Sarah Palin.
No one wants her to transform American into a socialist paradise, and as far as I can tell, she has little interest in being Messiah herself. It’s a terrible shame we cannot say the same of Mr. Obama and his cultish followers.
That was Reagan’s secret – he had no false pride and was the first one to laugh at himself. If Sarah can keep this up, she will totally endear herself to the American people.
“The Elite class of her rage is something just-out-of view… never exactly specified, but possibly including illegal immigrants, those who say Happy Holidays, those who ask us to press 1 for English, college professors, gay people, childless working women, unwed mothers (strike that!) some unfocused group that while fuzzy and undefined, is definitely, surely, out to harm America, to destroy all that is good and righteous and proper.”
No, it’s not out of view. It’s right there in plain sight. And it’s not “fuzzy and undefined”, either. Want some names? Ok. It’s Michael Mann and Phil Jones et al. falsifying climate data, then having the unmitigated gall to insist that Western governments, especially the U.S., should curtail liberties and pay massive sums to curb carbon emissions. It’s al-Qaeda terrorists who are captured overseas–KSM, “Foopie”, Ramzi bin al-Shibh, and the rest–but are now given the same rights as American citizens by a Justice Department headed by Eric Holder. This is the same man who was instrumental in the pardon of several Puerto Rican terrorists, and a major white-collar criminal whose wife also happened to be a large donor to the Democratic Party. It’s ACORN, offering advice on how to run child prostitution rings, smuggle said children into the U.S., and launder money, all the while receiving government funds and working hand-in-glove with prominent left-wing politicians, to include our current president. Speaking of the current occupant of 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, he doesn’t get off the hook, either. A one-trick pony who can give a decent prepared speech but otherwise comes off as a dilettante and political hack, he gratuitously insults our long-time allies, and embraces our enemies without receiving any consideration for the U.S. in return. He calls for openness, but refuses to release his college transcripts or birth certificate. He calls for “change” but offers nothing but the failed ideas of the past, albeit on a far grander (or more grotesque) scale.
I could go on, but that’s enough for a start. And I haven’t even mentioned Congress. So, far from this ill-defined, amorphous “elite” being the enemy, we have a far more concrete notion of who’s leading this country astray than you seem to think. Sarah Palin gets a fair hearing on the right because she has come to the same conclusions that many of us have. She may or may not have the answers we seek, but we’re willing to hear her out. The petty hatreds and jealousies that you cite in your contemptuous little comment are of little moment to most of us on the right and show just how out of touch you are with what’s really going on in “flyover country”.
I taught my daughters the following expression to help them cope with the ups and downs of junior high and high school. The saying goes:
“Say what you mean. Mean what you say. And don’t BE mean!”
This silly little piece of advice for teens goes to the heart of the essential differences between Palin and Obama, I think. I hate that word “authenticity,” but it seems clear to me that Palin simply is who she says she is. She is sincere in what she says, and is clear about what she believes. She has had plenty of opportunities to take the low road in response to her critics, but by and large she has avoided that.
Obama, on the other hand, not so much. Since he is expedient through and through, he will say whatever he needs to say to achieve his goals. There’s no core there.
Character. Some people have it, and some don’t. And those that don’t can try to fake it for awhile, but eventually the truth will out.
Like the moose in the headlights, Palin doubters won’t know what hit them. I think you will enjoy my take, same bottom line but from a different angle:
The GOP’s secret weapon: William Shatner
link
I’m glad to see some people giving Shatner credit in this undeniably positive appearance by Sarah Palin. I don’t believe for a moment that he didn’t know she was going to follow him and have fun at his expense. That reveals a generous streak generally missing in the entertainment community. I’m watching to see if the usual crowd of Palin critics turns on him.
Tom Carty: Yes. The essence of genuine humor, the ability to laugh at oneself, which Shatner has in abundance. A magical moment of theater that puts most so-called humor skits to shame.
She glows.
I laughed until I cried when I saw this. Oh my heavens! This is not just funny. It’s therapeutic!
Some comments have opined that Shatner was put in his place or one upped or some such thing. Nope. Not so. Oh sure, that was the gag, but it’s just show business. This was just fun, fun, fun. Palin was so good at her reading, it was almost uncanny. She really aced it
I haven’t had a deep belly laugh like this in years, I’m sorry to say. We should have such laughs every week.
Hot Air blog links many of the trackbacks to this video. It looks like it’s going to be talked about for some time. Gee…maybe it will knock the Tiger story out of circulation. Hah….I wish.
Palin-Shatner 2012!
Anchoress.
You’re spot on, of course, regarding the fear of this woman on the left.
If you go to Huffington Post and look at the comments on their posting of the video, you’ll see that it’s attracting a huge number of reactions, most of which are panicked and full of dread.
Will this video be the event that pushes Sarahcuda’s approval rating higher than Obama’s? Tee heee…..I think this maybe has legs.
Huge. Cultural. Event.
waltj; exactly so—and then there is the photo of the new Pelosi jet bought with taxpayers money, the pay raise for federal workers while unemployment in the private sector escalates, the newest stimulus proposal before the last one has served any discernable purpose, the pork laden funding bill just approved by the House, the never ending horror of the health care bill proposals, but who are we to complain? I know of a small business owner who will be laying off an employee after Christmas and more to follow depending on tax issues and business conditions. Those who are psychologicaly rooting through the thought processes of Palin followers are overthinking the reason for her appeal. Slogans are good for condensing what is going on. Like, Live Free or Die, Don’t Tread on Me, Taxation Without Representation, many more favorites that succienctly spell out the national situation as more and more Americans are coming to see this imposition of socialism on our country.
I’m sure Liz Cheney would have done a much better job ; )
[Different women with different gifts. Palin is a trained broadcaster, which people forget -admin]
“Palin is a trained broadcaster, which people forget…”
Yep. I couldn’t help but notice that while Shatner read from the book, she read her part from a teleprompter (shades of Obama!) and had his book as a prop but never referred to it.
Dcn. G.
[Shatner seemed to read from the teleprompter, too, I thought. Mostly -admin]
What was especially revealing was the audience
reaction to Gov. Palin’s appearance on stage.
Play the clip again and listen– they’re giving her
a loud, solid shout-out before she says one word.
Conan’s audience wasn’t stacked with people there to see her. Her visit was a surprise.
That roar of delight was the sound of a random
cross-section of this country’s population. And
did you notice the musicians in Conan’s house
band giving her a standing O.?
In every way imaginable, Sarah outclasses the leftist jackals who hate her. They may disagree with her politics but what drives their over-the-top hatred is that she exposes many of them for the frauds they are; in particular the marxist/feminist establishment. And the big city girlymen who never fired a gun are similarly threatened.
I bet Sarah Palin and Liz Cheney together would be awesome!
emjay:
“no, she is too NewAgey and that would be why she shouldn’t be racking up the points with Christians . . .”
What are you nattering about? An example or two might be helpful. Got any? And, please, don’t go with the pastor praying to protect her from witchcraft. It wasn’t her pastor. She was being polite.
Denise-
IYou write that she represents “independence from moneyed special interests that donate equally to both parties for their interests (not the public’s)”
If I thought that were the case, I would work tirelessly night and day for her.
But does Sarah really want to lead the charge against the Wall Street bankers and corporate lobbyists who have so much unfair influence over our elected representatives- of both parties?
In a word, no.
Sarah Palin hasn’t given any indication whatsoever that she wants to do anything that might cause the moneyed interests any discomfort or inconvenience.
In fact, she seems very keen on reducing their taxes, and removing any regulatory burdens they may face.
How she would represent any independence is a mystery.
And she “lives her prolife ideals”- well, yes and Barack Obama is faithful to his wife, and adores his daughters. Both are very nice character traits, but not qualifications to be President.
And waltj- you list the enemies of Sarah Palin-
Lets see, we have a couple of scientists who faked data; and Eric Holder, allowing accused terrorists trials; ACORN, engaging in shady deals with street hustlers. Congress, for being jackasses in general. And of course the President who refuses to acknowledge his birth certificate.
Without even arguing any of the points- lets assume they are all legitimate- this is not the basis of a movement or platform or worldview. These are a listing of micro-grievances, unconnected by any larger viewpoint or philosophy.
In case anyone wonders, I am not attacking Palin from the left; I don’t think she is too conservative.
Contrary, I think she is not a real conservative in any sense of the word.
For example- she claims to want to “limit government”
Yet she is very happy to accept the Bush/ Obama view of executive power, outlined by Alberto Gonzales and John Yoo, that in the war on terror, the President has nearly unlimited power to do pretty much anything he wants. Palin hasn’t made any statements I know of that contradict or attack Yoo’s legal theories.
So what does she want to “limit”?
The EPA and Interior Dept, are apparently the only real government that needs to be reduced.
She wants to be “fiscally conservative” but couldn’t find room in her 400 page book to give a description of how such a thing is to be accomplished. She flat out refuses to consider tax hikes, so we are to imagine that a full 1/3 of the government spending will be eliminated; without touching defense or SS/ Medicare.
For anyone who has looked at the budget, this is mathematically impossible.
In other words, she is a poseur; she strikes a pose as a populist, but “pals around” with the very moneyed interests who wreak misery on the American people; she poses as a deficit hawk, but refuses to do the hard work of asking for sacrifice to get there; she preens as a champion of the People against an overbearing government, but sides with the government in all but the most trivial of cases.
She is not too conservative; she isn’t one at all.
Clinton made the comment above about the crowd which is what I noticed and was surprised about in whatching this clip. Not advertised in advance to get the Sarah lovers and certainly not in a red state. The left and culture of death folks are going to go after her with everything they have even more than before. She represents everything the establishment of both parties and the left hate. As she moves up in polls which she will, watch out.
Anchoress:
Great post. I too noticed the wild audience reaction when Sarah walked out on stage.
One small thing — that typographic error when you write:
“a choice between slick-but-cool enigma, or a something warm and safe,”
I think you meant “slick-but-cool enema,” didn’t you?
F
I read her book. She is tireless, focused, savvy, and relentless. IF what she says in that book is the most accurate reflection of the McCain campaign, and based on her other campaigns it well might be, and IF she wants to be President of the United States, she will be. This stunt just proves she knows what harms her AND can diffuse it without breaking a sweat.
Liberty 60
Hasn’t given any indication that she’s against moneyed interests?
How about the fact that she bucked the RNC on the NJ-23 race?
Actually living pro-life ideals doesn’t make her qualified to be President? Well, being a liar can get you elected certainly, but being trustworthy makes you truly Presidential. Especially when the RINOs and Dems of the world keep trying to describe the Truth as right-wing and extremist.
I’m not sure I agree that she’s required to release a manifesto on how to balance the budget in her memoir.
She’s a hawk on defense: don’t see that as a downer. If the liberal Obama once seeing the classified info about the terrorist threat stuck with increasing troops in Afghanistan then the threat is real.
All the other things you say, perhaps some links would be useful. I have no idea why you say them and if you can’t be bothered to demonstrate them true, i can’t be bothered to refute them.
Denise-
I find it odd that for you, “moneyed interests” are the RNC folks in NY-23.
Not Goldman-Sachs, Citibank, AIG, the pharmaceutical corporations, the insurance giants, the stock manipulators who at this very minute are spending their 100 million dollar bonuses…?
I cannot cite, what doesn’t exist.
Sarah has not once ever spoken an unkind word about the Wall Street banks, ever made any statement indicating she would take any sort of action against them.
There is no evidence she would pursue a foreign policy much different than Obama. She would certainly use tougher more bellicose language- but how she would prosecute the wars differently is never explained.
Again, the burden is on her to demonstrate what she means by “fiscal conservatism”- she has not made any sort of statements that would indicate she is serious about spending reduction. Vague comments about cutting waste is an applause line, not a viewpoint.
It would be devastatingly easy to refute my points by showing a quote or policy paper, or logical argument she makes about her ideas. I just haven’t seen anything that rises about a bumper sticker.
“…you list the enemies of Sarah Palin…”
Ah, no, I did not. Re-read my posting, please. At no time did I list anybody as being an enemy of Sarah Palin. What I did say was that certain individuals were taking this country down the wrong path, and then cited several examples. This was to counter your assertion that it was simply undefined “elites”, which somewhat incongruously included illegal aliens and single working women, as objects of the wrath of Palin supporters. My response was merely intended to show that we do indeed have a solid idea who’s running this country into the ground, and how they’re doing it. A full-fledged manifesto in support of Sarah Palin? You’re right, it wasn’t. Nor was it my intent.
She is a very endearing person. She is a real person. Yes, she is “natural” in the great sense of that term in that she knows herself, what the world is, what people are…and she jmor that just makes he a very likeable person.
Howver….
From the conservative side we hear, ‘She may not be Presidential Timber…’ True. She may not be. But compared to what??? Biden? McCain? Obama? Between the three of them there isn’t enough timber for a mast, and the last one is a colossal toothpick.
From the “progressives” we get hate, rage, way over the top condemnation. They truly do hate her because evil hates good and that side, at least, is easy to understand.
But there may be a darker side to both sides of the criticism. I found this at neo-neocon and will link to it there. A very disturning article about Palin Hatred: http://neoneocon.com/2009/11/24/the-dark-side-of-palin-hatred/
Yours, Michael
And so, Michael brings the thread to full circle. The links are to an article that tells us that the debate is entirely about Sarah the person, Sarah’s personality, Sarah’s body, Sarah’s family, Sarah’s status as woman, mother, and wife.
Everything except, Sarah’s ideas, Sarah’s positions, Sarah’s viewpoints.
This is, exactly, precisely, a cult of personality.
Sarah is the Right’s version of Obama- an empty suit upon which everyone’s hopes and dreams can be hung, all their personal petty grievances and resentments.
Compare Sarah Palin to, say, Kay Bailey Hutchison, or Bay Buchanan, women who are every bit as “conservative” as Sarah. Except these women are treated much differently, and why?
Because they have actual ideas, viewpoints, positions that can be argued, debated, and defended.
When they are attacked, sometimes viciously, they never bothered to snivel and whine about how mean the media is, or how they were being “wilded”; they simply fought back, bravely and gave as good as they got.
The conservative movement is only going to destroy itself if it insists on venerating Sarah as its patron martyr, the victim of evil dark forces. Self-pity doesn’t build movements, or win elections.
Liberty60,
You’re about as wrong as wrong can be.
You are in the mood to Pontificate. The only cult of personality here is your own cult about Y O U.
get a grip.
And the Left is certainly going to destroy itself if it continues to idolize Obama, and continues trying to push “global warming” and government run health care.
Also, it seems to me it’s the Left, rather than the right, that’s turning Sarah Palin into a personality cult; although, in their case, it’s sort’ve the evil Nixon/Bush-is-responsible-for-everything-that’s-gone-wrong, anti-hero cult.
It’s as if they continually need a rightwing villain to demonize.
Maybe the fact that her popularity is not the result of a huge community organization effort give people the feeling that she is a real person and not some poster-child figurehead. Its odd that the left attacks her at every opportunity, while claiming she lacks the skills to lead. If true why fear her, by their own arguments she is a non-starter, and as such no threat. Seem the left has lost track of their message.
Rhinestone,
You are right. The Left is ONLY about personality cult. Evil, however, always mimics the good.
Therefore, to note that one person has a real personality is, for the Left, the same thing as they do – which is to develop a cult centering on the person.
They do this as a default position: FDR, Kennedy, King, Clinton, Obama et al. That’s just the American ones: Hitler, Stalin, Bin Laden, Chavez, etc., etc – Leftists all (and if you say Hitler and Bin Laden are not leftists then you probaly don’t know what the left is – they all share and subscribe to the same base philosophy and rationale about “The West”, “The Good”, “The Truth”, “Reality”, “Power”, etc.).
Leftists are not only the worst people there are on earth in its history; they are the worst people it is possible to be. The conscious, knowing ones anyway.
Rock,
You got it.
She reminds me of Ronald Reagan in that way – he had such a way of coming up with a funny, self deprecating remark, a good zinger that never left feelings hurt. He was natural, like she is. I’m not sure she is “presidential material’ but I hope she remains in the public spotlight, if only to be the gadfly to her opponents.
She is one awe-inspiring woman, our Sarah! I think Dennis Miller said it best when he said that the hairy armpit crowd are terrified by her because it is evident that the Governor and her husband are having frequent, good, non-neurotic sex and enjoying it!
Could well be. Who knows what goes on in the [purported] minds of the hairy armpit crowd! Am I laughing at them – you betcha! Do they get the joke? Nope!
I am delighted by Sarah and wish she could be president. But I don’t think she’s ready yet. She’s got the charisma, the connection with ordinary folks, the independence from monied interestes, and a Reagan-style sense of humor. But she lacks the experience and wonkery, both of which Reagan had plenty of time to develop before he became president.
The next few years with her will be interesting, but 2016 will be the earliest she could run a credible campaign.
I adore this wonderful woman. And Bill Shatner is better at self-deprecating humor than anybody!
To a good number of commenters above: Don’t let the perfect be the enemy of the good.