Why The Campaign Shackled Sarah Palin

It's well known by now that Sarah Palin was basically told to zip her lip, mind her P's and Q's, and toe the line during her stint as John McCain's running mate in 2008. What doesn't seem to be general knowledge, what hasn't even been addressed by either the mainstream media or those of us who support Mrs. Palin unconditionally is...why? Sarah has given us her side of the story, relating exactly how things went down from her view in the eye of the storm. Steve Schmidt has vehemently (perhaps nervously?) denied it happened that way (though we know it did, Steve; you're not fooling all of the people all of the time)...but....

But why?

Uh, teacher? Yeah, that's my hand in the air--can I, I mean may I, may I answer the question?

While I definitely dislike running out of paint and having to take the rest of the day off to drive to Wal-Mart, wheeling mindlessly down the highway has always been conducive to sudden flashes of insight. Works like that for me, anyway. I had the #5 CD of Sarah's audiobook (Going Rogue, abridged, read by the author) in the player, listening to what the former Governor of Alaska had to say about some of the "ignore the B team V.P. candidate" action that took place during that campaign, when suddenly...I knew. Knew why it had been done. It was as clear as day and as disgusting as an episode of The Family Guy.

Sure, Schmidt and the mysterious "Headquarters" believed they were smarter, more politically savvy than the gal who'd single-handedly ousted a "good old boy" incumbent from the Governor's mansion in the Land of the Midnight Sun. They'd long styled themselves the "experts", forgetting that the definition of "expert" is "a drip under pressure"...and closely related to the word "assume". The key factors, however, were these:

1. They didn't believe in Sarah Palin one little bit.

2. They did believe John McCain had blown it.

3. They did believe it was their job to "contain the damage".

4. They were certain our lady of Alaska couldn't handle the big time.

5. They were certain they knew what would "sell" to the public and what would not.

6. They were certain the Vice Presidential candidate had horrific skeletons in her closet because, after all, "everybody" does.

In sum, Sarah Palin scared Stevie Boy and the mythical, mystical HQ every bit as badly as she scared the Democrats. They thought, they were certain that she was every bit as [*insert epithet here*] as did the most fanatic liberals on the planet. The only difference was that the liberals felt it to be their duty to blow down the walls of Palin House while the "handlers" felt it to be their duty to keep those walls, somehow, away from the wind. It never occurred to John McCain's campaign people to even consider the possibilty that Sarah Palin was for real, that the structure upon which she'd built her life was solid as our own home-to-be is today.

Shame on you, boys. Growing up ranch raised and rodeo bred like I did, I understand what it means to ride for the brand. When you do that, you give your loyalty to the man who cuts your paycheck...and that means backing his decisions all the way, even if it comes to gunplay. If you don't believe me, just ask Louis L'Amour, Zane Grey, or William Johnstone. But you didn't do that, did you?

Nope.

Instead, you second guessed your boss, maybe thought ol' John was getting senile, maybe a few of his grapes had been out in that Arizona sun a touch too long and were turning into raisins. Something like that. So you tried to keep the Disaster from Alaska from dragging down the campaign.

You know what? You blew it.

Naturally, I have no way to prove I'm right about any of this. On the other hand, Schmidt and Crew have no way to prove I'm wrong, either. Let the readers decide for themselves: When you think it over, does my theory make sense...or not?

Not that anything happens by accident one way or the other. Except for the pain and strain heaped on McCain, the horrific abuse thrown at eaters of moose, the layers and layers of frustrated taxpayers...except for things like that, it's all good. It's all good that Sarah Palin will run at the top of the ticket for President of the United States in 2012, knocking out O.T.O. (One Term Obama) in a grassrootsslide on election day. It's all good that the Left has thrown everything at her including the kitchen sink, yet she's still standing. Yep. It's all good.

Because, as the saying goes, "They ain't seen nuthin' yet!" Most certainly they haven't seen a well heeled Sarah with a full war chest as Captain of her own ship in full campaign mode. If "Headquarters" disagrees with her in 2012, no problem--she'll fire HQ and hire people who will ride for the brand. She'll stay in touch with responsible media, stay in touch with We the People, and occupy the Oval Office a full four years earlier than would have been the case if McCain/Pailin had won in '08. Sarahcuda on the loose; naysayers beware.

Perhaps Steve Schmidt and the rest of 'em who temporarily caged the former Governor of Alaska in 2008 were deprived as children, denied the opportunity to watch Peter Pan and Tinker Bell...and thus denied the ability to comprehend the true power of those two little words, "I Believe". Fortunately, millions of us taxpayers/voters in flyover country do comprehend that power and therefore send this message--first, to both houses of Congress this November (2010) and then to the White House in 2012:

"We're comin' for ya!"