You have to wonder. Now that the election is over you would think that the focus would be on the president-elect and his transition. That is newsworthy and is being covered, but the continuing focus on Sarah Palin is surprising.
Finishing Her Off?
Could it be that the left is so fearful of Sarah Palin and her ability to energize crowds that they feel they must finish her off, so she does not come back stronger and more popular? Could it be that they can’t imagine facing her with four more years of experience under her belt?
Do the Attacks Pass the Smell Test?
A Fox news story said that the McCain campaign became increasingly disenchanted with Palin toward the end of the campaign. It said that her lack of knowledge of the most basic facts about civics and geography were alarming. This raises some interesting points:
- In vetting Sarah Palin, no matter how quickly or superficially it was done, how could they possibly miss issues so allegedly glaring?
- The opposition, which included the main stream media, descended on Alaska from north to south to dig up dirt on Sarah Palin. Bill O’Reilly reported that the National Enquirer went up there checkbook in hand, to get any good story they could. What did they come up with? Nothing. The only thing that came close to a story was Troopergate. Try as they might to make it a big story and even an October surprise, it flopped. She was later completely exonerated by the proper investigative authority in Alaska (not the Democrats in the legislature). Interestingly, the vindication didn’t make much of a news splash even though the findings were released before the election.
- Her approval ratings as governor were the highest in the nation. Could a complete dunderhead be so widely approved of?
Just How Thin Was Her Experience?
Ironically, in an article that was used to sandbag Sarah Palin in a CNN interview, Byron York wrote in National Review (“Sarah Palin, Governor”):
… a look at Palin’s 20 months in power, along with interviews with people who worked with her, shows her to be a serious executive, a governor who picked important things to do and got them done — and who didn’t just stumble into an 80 percent job-approval rating.
She took on her own party when she saw ethics problems. How many Democrats can say that? The typical Democratic response to scandal is circle the wagons, stonewall, and counter attack. Just think Bill Clinton, Gerry Studds, Tim Mahoney, the Keating Five, et al.
She renegotiated a pipeline project with major oil companies that was originally negotiated by her predecessor on terms unfavorable to Alaska. She overhauled the state ethics laws, working with both Democrats and Republicans in the Alaska legislature. She also vetoed spending on things that she determined were not a state priority, for such things as “dealing with killer shrubs and Zamboni blades.”
Byron York distilled how she approached governing with three points:
- She hires well. “There was a pretty good team of people assembled right away to come in and start with her big-picture principles and develop a process and legislation to carry that out,” says Joe Balash, the governor’s oil and gas advisor, “I would say that her management style is to give her staff, her cabinet, a pretty long leash, but with very high expectations — and she’s not afraid to tell you that you didn’t get it right.”
- She is involved in details in big things but not on everything. In other words, she doesn’t get lost in the weeds. She keeps focus on the the important things.
- She is dead set on fulfilling campaign promises. Imagine that! A politician who actually cares about what they say on the campaign trail and says what they mean and means what they say.
Sarah Barracuda
Sarah has shed the muzzle of the second fiddle in a presidential race. She no longer has to pull her punches so as not to conflict with the top of the ticket. She is back to being governor and the chief executive of Alaska. So she can now set the record straight and she should do so enthusiastically. She should take advantage of media outlets that are fair and balanced, rather than lying in wait for her. She should come out swinging and really let the left know that if they were frightened of her before, they have awakened a sleeping giant.
