Palin's Heartland Appeal
Sarah Palin is back, using her book Going Rogue as a prop - and from all indications she ain’t going away – which may be why passions, pro and con, are so intense about her.
There seems no middle ground when it comes to Palin -- some of it understandable, most of it puzzling.
If she’s a ditz, an airhead as some insist, someone without the depth or substance to be president, why worry about her? The electorate will catch on. So why do Democrats slag her at every opportunity?
If she’s a genuine threat to be a contender for power on the Republican side, why are so many Republicans uneasy about her? Uneasy? Heck, some froth at the mouth.
Regardless, she’s a phenomenon of our times – arguably the only Republican at the moment with star power. Now that she’s back, and appearing on various conservative talk shows – Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity, Bill O’Reilly, as well as those middle-America favorites, Oprah and Barbara Walters – another aspect of Sarah Palin is coming into focus that possibly is her greatest asset.
She is eminently likeable on TV. This is a quality she shares with Ronald Reagan who, if one remembers, was initially dismissed by self-styled intellectual elites as a dumbo, grade-B movie actor and mad bomber before he won the election and became Ronald Reagan, one of the greatest of U.S. presidents who won the Cold War.
With her book tour bus, complete with her portrait on the side, Palin is obviously taking aim at heartland America – her constituency, that is immune to the appeals of the elite like Barack Obama.
One can understand the unease of Democrats, especially with Obama’s charisma fading with every questionable policy, a soaring deficit and economic setback. But why are some Republicans so hostile?
True, Palin’s solid base among the religious right, right-to-lifers, and no-compromise conservatives is not enough to guarantee election. On the other hand, without this base, no Republican can be elected president.
The trick for Republicans – perhaps their only hope unless Obama continues to disintegrate – is for the factions to blend and cooperate, and heal their ideological differences.
What Palin is proving on this book tour is toughness, resiliency, likeability. She exudes candor and compassion, and appears not to hold grudges. She admits past errors which is disarming, while maintaining a Reagan-like cheerfulness. As for convictions, she doesn’t bend and has a Thatcher-like resolve – minus Maggie’s wisdom and intellect.
Another thing this book tour is proving is that she was shrewd to quit as governor of Alaska if she aspires to be a continuing force in America – as she obviously does. Her gift is to be beautiful without appearing to work at it; everyone knows that good looking people have a built-in advantage over those who aren’t.
Sarah as President? Hard to imagine. But what if Rudy Giuliani seeks the Republican nomination – with Palin as a running mate? Hmm. Like John McCain, Giuliani never has a critical word to say about Palin. He even takes her to Yankee baseball games.
Some see her and her book as mindful of country singer Loretta Lynn’s book (Coal Miner’s Daughter) which was refreshingly honest and much admired. No, Sarah Palin is here to stay, and judging from interviews so far, a repeat of her Katie Couric disaster is unlikely.