The Palin Conundrum II

Let's take a look at two separate articles about Sarah Palin. Here is the first. (H/T to Hot Air)

The selection of a running mate is among the most consequential and the most defining decisions a presidential nominee can make. John McCain’s pick of Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin says a lot about his decision-making — and some of it is downright breathtaking

We knew McCain is a politician who relishes improvisation and likes to go with his gut. But it is remarkable that someone who has repeatedly emphasized experience in this campaign named an inexperienced governor he barely knew to be his No. 2. Whatever you think of the pick, here are six things it tells us about McCain

1. He’s desperate. Let’s stop pretending this race is as close as national polling suggests. The truth is McCain is essentially tied or trailing in every swing state that matters — and too close for comfort in several states, such as Indiana and Montana, that the GOP usually wins pretty easily in presidential races. On top of that, voters seem very inclined to elect Democrats in general this election — and very sick of the Bush years.

Here is the second.

Until Wednesday night, many political professionals were whispering that there was a good chance that in picking Sarah Palin as his running mate John McCain had lost the election.

And some of them thought that with his last-minute, seemingly impulsive selection of a little-known and little-experienced governor he had lost his mind.

It’s as true on Thursday afternoon as it was on Wednesday that Palin is a risky pick. The public — and no doubt the McCain campaign as well — still doesn’t know what it doesn’t know about Palin, whose personal and public record in Alaska is still being raked by reporters and opposition researchers.

But in the space of one 36-minute speech by Palin, McCain proved that his choice was not a lapse into temporary (or even permanent) insanity. The speech’s political significance goes far beyond the fact that Palin showed herself capable of delivering a spirited reading of words that other people wrote.

Now, here is what is fascinating about these two. The were both written by John Harris and Jim Vanden Hei and they were written within four days of each other. So, what's going on here? It appears that MSM elites and political opponents simply don't know what to make of her.

They heard about some small town mayor that's been governor of Alaska for less than two years and they snickered. They heard that her daughter is pregnant at 17 and they figured she was white trash. She wasn't anywhere near the beltway and they simply underestimated her.

The reality is that Sarah Palin is not conventional, and that is what is making her opponents and the media elites so confused. What this 180 degree turnaround symbolizes to me is that for so called elites, the media and the political class sure struggles to deal with anyone out of the ordinary.

Sarah Palin has made her political career as a reluctant politician. As she has moved up the political ladder, she has done it almost always for all the right reasons. She worked as a business owner and sports caster, not as some staffer, lawyer, or lobbyist, prior to getting into law. She loves to hunt and spends time outdoors. This sort of unconventional person is one the media elites and the political elites is one they can't process. I guess the term elite is an oxymoron in this case.