Sarah Palin: Hoist By Her Own Petard

COL John “Jack” Sallee was a good man. Witty, charming, and decisive, he had a way of cutting through the BS. He was my Commanding Officer in the Army. I was sorry to hear of his passing. He prominently displayed a sign on the wall of his office in the headquarters building. Perhaps it was a warning to his troops, but I think it was an endearing, sort of self-deprecating reminder. In big, bold letters it read: “DON’T DO DUMB THINGS”. It was simple, eloquent, and said it all--good advice for all of us. I wish Sarah Palin had met COL Sallee, or at least read his sign. Hugh Betcha and the staff of Stoos Views have long supported Sarah Palin--for what their support was worth--in several previous columns. They defended her against her Democrat detractors, against the slander and libel directed toward her wonderful family, and against the mean-spirited, sleazy Letterman jokes about the rape of Sarah’s daughter.

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Since her sudden appearance on the national scene, Sarah has been the darling of the Right--and many people in the middle of the political spectrum. She has many endearing qualities, including; strong family values, good morals, advocate of the unborn and those born with challenges, and a happy outgoing personality. But, unfortunately, she just keeps doing dumb things. We all do dumb things, but we all do not run for President of the greatest country on earth. And, we who do not run for President, expect more from those who do. We expect a modicum of good judgment; comprehension of the great issues of our day; the ability to think on your feet; circumspection; wisdom; and the ability to lead with one’s brain rather than one’s chin.  And we hope that whoever aspires to that high office can at least avoid shooting themselves in the foot most of the time. Many of us had hoped that Sarah would display strong leadership and sound judgment. But, it is becoming increasingly hard to give her the benefit of the doubt. First, it was the Saturday Night Live appearance where she made a fool of herself during the campaign by participating in various semi-funny skits lampooning herself. They were cute to a point, but mostly embarrassing and unbecoming a person who aspires to lead this great country. It is one thing to be caricatured; it is quite another to draw the cartoon yourself. The whole episode was clownish and she allowed herself to become a caricature. She never quite shed that image. Then there was the Katie Couric ambush in which Sarah was a willing participant. Whichever goofy handler recommended that interview should have been fired, if not shot. Better yet, fired and then shot. And why she did not exercise a modicum of control over her own campaign and decline the interview God only knows. Apparently, Sarah was totally uninformed about that evil little raccoon, Couric, who graduated from the Dan Rather School of Ambush Journalism, and who delights in giving anyone to the right of Karl Marx and Obama fits.  The only thing worse than her decision to appear with Couric was the deer in the headlights look she wore during most of the interview and her seemingly total inability to recall even one newspaper that she may have read in the past. Could she not even name a newspaper? Not one?  While we were all frustrated by this performance, there was still hope. Then came the resignation from her position as Governor of Alaska. To do what? Go on a book tour? Now there is a great addition to your presidential resume. No one likes a quitter and this was to say the least an odd way to prepare for a run in 2012. And please do not say that Ronald Regan ran for President after being Governor of California. Sarah has a lot of redeeming qualities but Ronald Regan she ain’t.   He was not a quitter. But the gaffes just never end. Lately, we heard that she joked about slipping into Canada for medical treatment.  Now, whether she went there as a young child accompanied by her family or not, really does not matter. There is no way to spin that fact favorably. For a person who condemns The Great One for his plan to socialize medicine to draw her gun and shoot herself in the foot by advertising the fact that she went to Canada for medical treatment, just defies belief.  That great sucking sound one hears this week is the sound of Sarah’s credibility going down the drain. And one can only imagine the glee with which this statement was greeted by The Great One and his minions in Congress and across the nation. One can only imagine the ads being created as we speak, or the billboards featuring Sarah crossing the border for medical treatment in our good neighbor to the north. Sarah has single-handedly given Obama greater press than he could ever have imagined, and has, in one fell swoop, lost the high ground on this argument. There is no way--regardless of her motives or the circumstances of her visits to Canada--that she will be painted as anything other than a hypocrite on the issue of socialized health care under Obama Universal Care for Health (O.U.C.H.). And, as always, it was largely Sarah herself who provided the grist for the left-wing press. Recently, I had lunch with a good friend who is a liberal Democrat. Yes, I do have friends like that, whom I treasure. I forgive them for their views as they forgive me for mine.  Out of the blue he said: “I hope you guys run Sarah in 2012.” “Why?” I asked. “Because she is the only one Obama can beat.” Of course, I laughed at the comment and spaced it off. But, lately, I am not laughing. My friend, I fear, was right.  If Sarah runs in 2012, we are doomed to defeat. She is likely to lose to Obama, and much of the reason will be her own doing. This will be only partially be the fault of her mean spirited detractors on the Left, who hate all things Sarah, or the tasteless jokes from low-lifes like David Letterman--the world’s biggest male chauvinist pig. I used to blame them all for Sarah’s problems. But, so often, maybe even much of the time, Sarah is her own worst enemy. She has pointed the petard at herself and away from her enemies. She will blow herself up with her own powder and her enemies need do nothing at all. She has become a caricature of herself, and, increasingly, no one is going to take her seriously. If she runs in 2012 I fear for the Republican Party, the conservative movement, and the country as a whole. Her negatives--already substantial--will increase. If she runs, Obama will be safely ensconced for a second term and the damage he will do will be irreversible.  It will be the end of America as we know it. I wish Sarah well.  Like many, I wanted her to succeed and hoped against hope that she would show us something--some maturity, better judgment, leadership qualities. But now I think she should stick to her book tour, her lecture circuit, and her fund raising for charitable causes. She is a good person and has much to offer to our country and to the world. But not as President. She is a Dan Quayle lightweight and the Democrats’ dream opponent. God help us all if she runs in 2012.