Why They're So Bothered By Sarah

With Sarah Palin's new book, Going Rogue, about to come out, we're treated to another round of media frenzy surrounding Sarah Palin. We're also treated to another round of demonization from the mainstream of both the press and the so called conservative thinking. Don't get me wrong. No one is above criticism. Sarah Palin is perfectly capable of handling criticism. What's remarkable about a great deal of the criticism is the utter contempt and condescension that is shown to her by the critics. This sort of contempt is usually reserved for Presidents where the stakes are much higher than with most politicians. Yet, Sarah Palin is treated to the kind criticism reserved for the select few of polarizing politicians. The poster child for this criticism is David Brooks.



Of course, he isn't the only one. Newsweek put Palin on their cover in biking shorts. They proceeded to call her everything but the devil. The Washington Post book critic not only lambasted Palin's book but even admitted that she neve quite finished the book.

I was at a party this weekend at which the subject of Sarah Palin came up and another party goer responded, "she wasn't ready in 2008 and she never will be".

This is a characterization that I suspect a lot of people have heard being directed at Palin. I wonder what anyone means by "not ready". She was certainly fit to be Vice President. She's currently in private life. I think she's perfectly capable of handling all those duties.

Of course, everyone is referring to her being president. That's both ironic and curious. First, the same people that claim that Sarah Palin isn't ready to be president voted for Barack Obama because he could make a series of great speeches. It's curious because Sarah Palin hasn't announced that she's running for President.

If she does it will be in nearly four years. Are all these folks saying they can see four years into the future and know that she won't be ready? They're saying that Sarah Palin is simply not fit.

Why is that? Palin was a successful mayor, a whistle blower, and a successful Governor. That's more qualifications than most presidential candidates. If Barack Obama can be president because he makes good speeches, Sarah Palin can be president.

I've heard people say it's her stance on abortion, it's her big family, her geography, her support for the second amendment, among a host of things. I've concluded that folks David Brooks are put off by the whole package.

In fact, it's ironic. Everything that I find attractive about Palin they find detestable. I think she's endlessly fascinating. She's a former state champion, former sports caster, former hockey mom, that hunts, got into politics by accident, and she went to the University of Idaho and not Harvard. I find all this not only fascinating but appealing. All of this the so called main stream finds detestable. That's because none of it was done in their club. They went to Ivy League schools. They spent most of their time in New York city or D.C. They go to cocktail parties not hunting.

So, I believe, it isn't so much that Sarah Palin is a threat. In fact, it is that Sarah Palin dares to enter their club without an invitation. She doesn't know the secret handshake. She doesn't wear their clothes, speak with their refined accent, or carry herself in a manner they demand.

Sarah Palin is an outsider, at least when you view the world from the prism of the mainstream, be it media or simply as thinkers even among conservatives. That's ultimately why, in their view, she's not only not ready now but will never be ready. How can you ever be ready to enter their arena when you didn't go through their gauntlet?