Newsweek Online 7-11-11 : The Best Sarah Palin Article to Date
58Peter J. Boyer has done it. He got an interview with Sarah Palin and wrote up a dandy piece of work titled Palin Plots Her Next Move. In fact, his article is so well done that Newsweek slapped a Sarah Palin photo on the cover of their magazine (the print version) this week, with Boyer's piece as the informational backup.
Not that I wanted to read it online. Newsmax let me know it was coming out today (July 11), so I drove over to Bisbee today to pick up a copy.
Uhhh...good luck with that. Safeway had nothing but womany stuff--tabloids, People magazine, the usual. No hard news mags, not even anything for the guys. No Field & Stream, no Easyriders, no--
--no Newsweek.
Neither the Shell nor the Chevron station even had any sort of magazine rack at all.
Not saying the good folks of Bisbee don't know how to read. The heavy stuff must be on deeper into Old Bisbee, in the heart of the canyon. Not going there, not today with less than a quarter tank of gas left in the Subaru. Got a Junior Whopper (extra onions) for Pam from Burger King and headed home.
Fortunately, we're in the age of GAG ( Green Al Gore) and the Internet he invented. Newsweek online had the article...and yes, it really is a dandy. Eight pages, yet very readable, surprisingly balanced, and (at least in my biased eyes) right on target.
Amazing.
Plus, the online version is free for the reading. That's a good thing.
A few high points from the article, you ask? Let's see...there's mention and some discussion of the pro-Palin documentary movie, The Undefeated, which I'm--dang it--going to have to miss when it premieres in Phoenix on Friday (July 15). It also opens in nine other cities in nine other states that same day, but no help (for me) there, either.
Guess I'll have to wait for the Wal-Mart DVD release on that one. What the hey, it worked for Going Rogue.
Beyond that, Boyer covers Sarah's reasons for resigning as Governor of Alaska in 2009, summing it up both accurately and much more concisely than most.. Plus mention of supporters who've uprooted themselves from other states and moved to Iowa in anticipation of a Palin run for the Presidency without ever having met her.
Also: Bits on her campaigning style, governing style, popularity and accomplishments during her time as Governor of Alaska, research on hot political issues, family insights, and...lots more. Eight pages worth of lots more.
My favorite quote in the piece? No contest. That came from Todd Palin, talking about his wife: "She's definitely qualified to run this country."
I agree.
Remember in November 2012.
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Well put.
I think it is hysterical that you are running all over the country to find this when it is online. I thought you find this as you find all other Sarah material. I will have to read it now to find out what is important to me. Is she running?
Becky: I'd be surprised if she's not running. Disappointed, too. But she hasn't announced yet.
Peter: I deleted your comment because, quite frankly, though you said "no offense", I did take considerable offense at your comment. You and I've always understood that I support Sarah Palin, you don't, and that's fine, but I will never approve any comment that denigrates Sarah's integrity, especially by calling her explanations of her actions "B.S." (without the abbreviation).
However, I will address one thing you said, which was that she "invented the reasons" for leaving the Governor's job "after two years had gone by". Not so. She addressed that issue immediately, getting Going Rogue to the publisher just 90 days after leaving the Governor's job, and laid out her side of the story in detail at that time.
That's funny Ghost because she never said those things when she quit, only after she quit. I should have abreviated also, sorry. You never recognized the fact that I am speaking from experience not conjecture.
Peter
Thanks for re-commenting, Peter.
Were I to ever be in that position, I don't believe I'd consider it appropriate to say those things while I was still holding that office, either. To do so would be sort of the same as a boxer in the ring telling the guy who just nearly put his lights out,
"Wow, dude! You really nailed me that time! Hit me a couple more times and I'll be plumb unconscious for sure."
That is, it's usually a good idea to follow the old adage, "Never let 'em see you sweat."
Which is why I have no problem with her waiting until she was out of office before stating her case.
You do have a point that she COULD have said something WHEN SHE QUIT, but to lay out her case, she needed more than a 30 second sound bite. I see the book (Going Rogue) as a sensible, middle-of-the-road, way to do that.
I do recognize the fact that you're speaking from experience but also recognize the fact that two people going through the same experience DON'T always JUDGE the experience the same way.
An example of this would be a saddle bronc ride--at least an ATTEMPTED ride--of mine in Arlee, Montana, circa 1965. I had drawn an old black gelding but knew nothing about this bunch of horses. A cowboy who did know them told me,
"He's just an old, honest bronc, bucks off straight down the arena."
That was okay, but it told me that I'd better look awfully good on him, or he'd not be showing enough fire to win me any money. Rodeo rides are judged half on the rider, half on the animal. I was going to need to make up for his deficiency.
Or so I thought. When the gate opened, as they say, "I came a-hookin'". The bronc felt the difference in THIS rider. (I was just turning pro that year, and he was used to minor league cowboys.) Four jumps out, he literally swapped ends (turned 180 degrees IN THE AIR) and bucked me flat off.
I got hung up, one boot hung in a stirrup, which pulled me in under him a bit before things let go. As a result, his right hind hoof landed on my lower right leg as he came down after one particular jump. Then off he went, and I got up--
limping AND laughing.
My wife (now ex-wife #1, then my bride of a few weeks) was furious. "How could you fall off of him like that?"
I grinned at her. "I didn't fall off. He BUCKED me off."
To this day (so far as I know), she refuses to believe he swapped ends like that. The thing is, she was looking through her camera viewfinder, focused on getting the shot, and didn't realize.
She never did.
Now, both of us were PRESENT at the event, but:
1. Vicky (my ex) saw her professional-level bronc rider husband FALL off an inferior horse who was simply bucking straight down the arena, and she also saw her idiot husband get up LAUGHING about it for no good reason.
2. I, on the other hand, was definitely BUCKED off of an old campaigner who had RISEN TO THE LEVEL OF HIS COMPETITION (me) and found a level of ability within himself he likely didn't even know he had. Why did I get up laughing? I was laughing in APPRECIATION for the old guy being able to find that extra effort within himself. It was a "good on you!" sort of thing.
Peter, our two worldview lenses, the way we see things political in this case, are quite different. Perhaps your lens OR mine is distorted, or both, or perhaps NEITHER--it could be only that one lens is smoked to guard against the sun's UV rays, or that you're looking through blue glass where mine is green.
You see tragedy for the nation if Sarah Palin becomes President; I see the possibility of restoration.
Same bronc, same rider, but two views--and even over time, 'tis not likely the twain shall meet.
NOW: Done said all THAT (ALL that! LOL!) to say all THIS: I appreciate you considerably, different lens or no--because you do CARE. That's half the battle, and I commend you for it.
Again, thanks for commenting.
Thanks to you back Ghost, You rebuttal was almost as good as a Tall Tale From Tam. I respect your views and understand it. But on everything else we're pretty compatable. Peace, Peter
Heh! Where do you think Tam gets his material? LOL!
Peace back atcha.
I, too, thought it a very good article. I think Sarah is one who loves challenges. The more impossible it is, the more she wants to take it on. She is an ENTJ personality type (if you are not sure what that is, I have a hub on it). Her type loves to lead people toward an ideal goal, and are great mobilizers of people.
Got me! Hadn't run across that acronym (ENTJ) so will be hopping over your way to check it out. Closest I could come was TMJ for jaw problems! LOL!
I may not support Sarah Palin or believe in the things she holds dear, but I have to admire the woman's tenacity to stick up for what she believes in. So many Americans put her down, her politics down and tear apart every little thing they can about her instead of stepping back and realizing she simply is true to her beliefs.
What's interesting to me about Palin is perception. We are a society that is constantly bombarded with creations of perception when it comes to political figures. My perception, whether valid or not, is that Palin comes off as not sounding intelligent. I'm not saying she is one or the other.
My point is that many people in our instant gratification society rely on very brief perceptions of politicians to make decisions about them. I think this will hurt her if she decides to run.
I do think she is brilliant in how she has manipulated the media. The media just eats her up and helps her get richer. Well done Mrs. Palin. Well done.
If Sarah "loves" a challenge, she should take 5th grade history again. Seriously, does she even have a high school diploma?
Ghost - When do you think Sarah will announce?
KT - Check out Sarah's resumé at an unbiased source (like Wikipedia), and then tell us how your's holds up.
carpesomediem: Exactly. Thanks for commenting.
cooldad: You've nailed on the head; perecption has EVERYTHING to do with the topic at hand. My own perception of Sarah is that she is highly intelligent, the problem being that she has the capacity to cut through all the smoke and mirrors to reach the heart of a problem in a single stroke. That's awesome for others who do the same thing, but for many, it's like being in school and giving your math teacher the answers without "showing your work".
In other words, her very "smarts" tend to allow some folks to see her as "dumb"--which she is anything but.
You're precisely correct, also, about the "brief" (instant gratification) perceptions being the basis of many voters' opinions. Few of those who see Mrs. Palin a negative light, for example, have done so much as taken the time to read her first book, Going Rogue.
And yeah, I, too, love the way she's worked the media that's tried so hard to work her over.
KT Banks: Thank you for taking the time to comment, though you do reflect the "brief" perception approach mentioned above by cooldad. Her knowledge of history is far deeper than most, including the fact that Longfellow's poem about The Midnight Ride of Paul Revere is a romanticized version of Revere's work--at least I'm guessing that's your reference.
As for her schooling, she has a college degree from the University of Idaho with a major in journalism and a minor in political science. Equally important, she attained that degree through a lot of hard work in the sense that she earned her own way through school.
Stu: I'm guessing Sarah will give the movie (The Undefeated) time to have a bit of impact and then go for it. But that's just a guess, being the way I'd do it myself, were I in her place. She's got a huge one-two punch going this week with the Newsweek cover out yesterday (Monday) and The Undefeated being released in ten cities on Friday.
But then the nationwide movie release hits next week, which could well be a real haymaker.
So: Not to chicken out, since you asked: I'd say sometime between the end of next week and the end of the month.
Re your reference to Wikipedia: That's helpful--I just checked it for the same reason you mentioned it--but the Wiki entry only mentions her degree as being "...in communications with an emphasis in journalism". In other words, it failed to mention the minor in poly sci, which for a career politician is (it seems to me, anyway) significant. Especially since one of the early (2008) "media slams" against her was that she supposedly knew nothing whatsoever about political science.
Guess that means, with my own degree being in psychology (major) with a minor in English, I obviously know nothing whatsoever about the use of the English language. My late English-teacher mother will be so disappointed....LOL!
Ghost, can I have a couple of what ever it is you're on? After I read what I thought was tongue in cheek sarcasm, I couldn't wait to read the article myself. How much money did you spend in Republican capitalist controlled gas before you decided to read the article on line. When I reread your hub, I realized you're dead on serious about her ability to lead. She seems to forget that she would still be wallowing in virtual anonymity had John McCain not plucked her out of the valleys of Alaska and put her on top of the mountain. She didn't work her way there. Obama had no presidential resume when he became president and neither does Palin. She can't speak off the cuff, she classifies questions such as "What do you read?" as gotcha journalism, and she thinks because she lives in a state between Canada and Russia that she knows something about foreign diplomacy. I hope she does run for president. That means the reasonable people will vote for a more qualified president.
Great comments and conversation here.
Jerry: Sure, you can have a couple of "what I'm on". First up, grab yourself a copy of Going Rogue and actually read it. Next, try thinking about the fact that ANYBODY wallows in "virtual anonymity" up until SOME point in time. I'm not a big John McCain man per se (though I do strictly honor his military service), but his introducing the nation to Sarah was (in my book) the finest service he's done for our nation to date.
?She didn't work her way there? She had, at the time of her selection for the V.P. candidacy by McCain, the highest approval rating of any Governor in the country. She'd forced Exxon to quit sitting on leases for "investment" purposes and get to actually drilling for oil after 30 years of previous Governors had failed.
Maybe she managed all that "without working"...but it's hard to see how that could be.
However, from your closing sentence, it would appear that you consider Obama "a more qualified President". That being the case, it's doubtful you and I are ever going to be able to communicate effectively with each other. We seem more likely to cock incredulous eyebrows at each other's "naive" (if you will) viewpoints. Which is, of course, why we have elections in these United States, and a good thing, too.
Note: I've been writing pro-Sarah Palin pieces (NO sarcasm, ALL sincerity) since November of 2009 (after reading Going Rogue), probably close to 200 Hubs in total at this point, and counting. There's no one else among the candidates and potential candidates I'd rather see as President.
Thanks for commenting.
cooldad: Glad you like! :)
Ghost? Can I point to the comments to this Hub as a prime example of polarized perspectives?
And, I think I'm beginnig to notice a trend. Have you run into anyone who has actually read Ms.Palins books who still argues that she lacks the capability to be President? I mean, truthfully, I too was wondering who she was and why she got selected for VP candidate, until I read her book.
I did NOT develop the same reaction from reading Obama's books, and still wonder why we voted him in.
If anyone really believes Politicians write their own books, "I've got some swamp land to sell ya..." It's called - Ghost Writers. (same goes for most celebrities)
Jim: Well stated.
I KNEW Sarah Palin knew her stuff from the moment she was nominated, but like the rest of us in the lower 48, it was impossible for me to get a comprehensive picture of her past, her roots, her accomplishments, etc., at first. There just wasn't any real reporting going on. Going Rogue changed all that and did it well.
K T: Yes, there are such things as ghost writers, and a good one is worth his or her weight in platinum.
However, Sarah Palin did not use a ghost writer. Instead, she worked with a collaborator. In case you don't see the distinction between the two, a ghost writer does the whole writing job while a collaborator works WITH the core author to make sure the final product is readable and gets across the intended message.
There is absolutely no question that Sarah knows how to write. Her college major was in journalism, for one thing. Why would a qualified journalist allow another writer to take over? Not likely. For another thing, its impossible not to hear Sarah's voice talking to you, telling her story, when you read her work.
However, going back to FitnezzJim's comment: K T, You haven't actually READ Going Rogue, have you?
The Frog Princess Level 2 Commenter 10 months ago
She is a natural women with excellent ideas, values, family and loves our country.