Archive for the ‘Sarah Palin 2012’ Category
Another day, another media hit job. It’s Deja Vu all over again, for Sarah Palin.
Posted on: September 16, 2011
Everyone knew the euphoria won’t last. The feel good moments if Undefeated release and the Indianola speech were too good to last. So, here we go again.
Stalkers of Wasilla strike with the double hurling of book and movie invective against the Governor. McGinniss with his biased biography and Broomfield with his agenda filmography.
Joe McGinniss’s book due out soon, and received tepidly in advance, dredges up old rumors, innuendo and gossip. The kind of stuff that’s more likely to render unto her actually a good deal of sympathetic support due to the nonsense cited. Todd condemned the ‘creepy obsession’ Joe has about the Governor.
Nick Broomfield (the Brit who, according to our president) might consider his country exceptional in the same way as we Americans think of America as exceptional camped at Wasilla and points afar to slant Sarah Palin from a liberal perspective.
With these blind attacks, comic strip artist Trudeau piling on, it is obvious the liberal wants to do very little to understand and acknowledge Sarah Palin as a rightful leader of people. Instead they blindly and madly attack her and her family with vitriolic twisting of each and every fact, out of fear of her popular support no doubt.
McGinniss and Broomfield have great achievements to their fame, but these two creative talents basically complete the circle of self-fulfilling prophecy. They dislike her, she distrusts them. They give her nothing to trust them, she will show them nothing that will cause them to like her. She matches their disdain with disregard, they retaliate with further disrespect, only to be dissed altogether. And so it goes. Someone in the media has to break free and start with a new regard for the Governor anew. My guess is it will come from that old standard, the print media. To the extent that it may be free standing, the writers of newspapers have generally been the voice of independent thought that blogs have become. Other media are to interested to titillate to be serious.
The media and the creative talents of this land are overwhelmingly given to an irrational liberal bent of mind, and Sarah Palin will not suffer such fools. Oh, she will indulge them once she becomes a candidate alright, but she will never trust them. For this they will continue to call her a polarizing figure, a controversial leader, and a person without gravitas etc. And all that that will achieve is gradually elevate her status across the voter spectrum. Slowly but inexorably, Governor Palin will America at large for she speaks to America’s heart!
At Indianola, Iowa Sarah Palin Brings Sunshine, and Inches Forward a Wee Bit…
Posted on: September 5, 2011
- In: Ah, Sarah! | G.O.P. | Nobama | Sarah Palin 2012
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The weather was a perfect metaphor for the day. Will Sarah Palin announce her candidacy or won’t she, was nicely paralleled by the question about the Sun, will he come out or not. A low pressure system transited through the Des Moines area and Palin supporters waited under dark, drizzly skies, eagerly wishing for Sarah and the sunshine. Eventually the Sun did shine through just as it was time for her arrival.
It was as if Sarah Palin brought sunshine with her. The other question remained: will she say the magic words?
Palin continued at Indianola, Iowa what she does best, keep supporters close, but keep her cards closer. Her rousing speech to the thousands of ardent fans and the tantalized media was again demonstrative of her two-pronged strategy: keep the pressure up, keep her powder dry.
She taunted and teased; postured and promised. She did all but announce her candidacy for 2012 election.
She did in fact stop well short of being definite, but inch a wee bit forward. Her words, tenor and cadence suggested an increase in amplitude, richness of proposals, condensation of verbiage.
While paying a tribute to the spirit of the Tea Party, she hinted that curing what ails the nation is not simply replacing Obama.
So, this is why we must remember that the challenge is not simply to replace Obama in 2012. The real challenge is who and what we will replace him with. It’s not enough to just change up the uniform. If we don’t change the team and the game plan, we won’t save our country. [snip]
I want to tell you what my plan is. My plan is a bona-fide pro-working man’s plan, and it deals in reality. It deals in the way that the world really works because we must talk about what really works in order to get America back to work. [snip]
– let’s enforce the 10th Amendment and devolve powers back locally where the Founders intended them to be.
– We must repeal Obamacare!
– Third, no more run away debt. We must prioritize and cut.
– Fourth, it is time for America to become the energy superpower.
– I propose to eliminate all federal corporate income tax. And hear me out on this. This is how we create millions of high-paying jobs. .. To balance out any loss of federal revenue from this tax cut, we eliminate corporate welfare and all the loopholes and we eliminate bailouts. This is how we break the back of crony capitalism because it feeds off corporate welfare, which is just socialism for the very rich.
{Emphasis added}
Transcript source: C4P
Hope versus Real Hope.
By now nearly all of America is familiar with the ‘hopey-changey’ ridicule line that Sarah Palin made her signature taunt. But here comes a more substantive gauntlet thrown. Real Hope. Hope is so 2008, and phony. Real Hope is, well real. Hope simply promises, and is offered by the one who wants to get elected. Real Hope, it springs forth from practical Americans, full of action-dreams and, ah yes, Commonsense Conservatism.
No less than a dozen times, Sarah Palin used the word real in her speech, as in Real Reform, and Real Hope. And drew a vivid contrast with the blithe spirit of 2008 that propelled so many naive voters into trusting the Democrat ticket. But bad reality collided nastily with phoney Hope.
Sarah Palin drives home the point that hopelessness wrought by the hype of Hope can now only be redressed by Real Hope.
real hope isn’t in an individual. It’s not in a politician certainly.
Folks, the truth is Barack Obama is adrift with no plan because his “fundamental transformation” is at odds with everything that made this country great. It doesn’t make sense. He doesn’t make sense.
General Election Now, Primary Later:
Candidates usually try to win over the base of party loyalists in the primary first, and then move to the center later for the general election. Nomination in hand, the candidate reaches out to the wavering, suspicious ‘other’ spectrum of the voter roll. It’s only rarely that a person can win over large swathes of both parties, and the Independents. Ronald Reagan was one such giant fixture. He got away without having to shift on the stump, the country shifted toward him! Governor Sarah Palin is planning for something similar. For the past more than two years she has been working to build a following across the political spectrum first. She rarely used skewed party rhetoric. Ideological yes, party line acquiescence no. She is not ‘wired for that’. She just speaks her mind. And the interesting effect of all this is that it feels as if Sarah Palin is running for the general election now, only to run in the party primary later. And why not indeed, after all she already won the hearts of the party faithful this day three years ago, and can do it again with ease. The 2012 primary calendar favors late season states. The real prize is in the next Fall. Her task is to have all Americans see her as being ready for the general election without the rigmarole, taint or talk of defining who she really is vis-a-vis the other candidate. Since we already know who that is why not act like it’s the general election, now!
Sarah Palin wants all voters to know who she is for real. She is in effect taking her fight straight to the street, even if the media doesn’t realize it, and even if the pundits go on about how she is not taking this step or that. So many would love to be employed by her right now!
Her speech at Indianola is addressed to all Americans, not just the so-called base. It’s aimed at both workers and owners of business. At people on the political right, left and middle. Above all it is aimed at the non-partisans. Sarah Palin just didn’t embrace Tea Party, she pretty much embodies it, hence it’s being demonized. Sarah Palin’s fate is in the hands of the independent minded voter, the pumas, the conservative working class Democrats. It’s the middle that makes the difference, after all.
Complete coverage courtesy of C4P.
A few memorable lines from her speech:
President Obama, these people – these Americans – feel that “fierce urgency of now.” But do you feel it, sir?
All aboard Obama’s bullet train to bankruptcy.
Polls are for strippers and cross-country skiers.
Barack Obama has shown us cronyism on steroids.
Tip: After C4P, one of the nicer summaries of Sarah Palin’s speech can be found at The Tree of Mamre. Give them a visit.
Conclusion:
So then, given these indications why did she not utter the magic phrase? “Today I announce … “
Three explanations quickly offer themselves:
She is saving it for New Hampshire;
She is waiting out the month of September;
She is waiting for the field to winnow itself thin.
1. She is saving it for New Hampshire. The first in the nation primary is a much more substantive, nominally correct and official event while the Iowa Caucuses are fraught with immense logistical issues. While amenable to some grassroots efforts the caucus exercise demands inordinate amounts of ground game that conflicts with Sarah Palin’s overall strategy. Winning Iowa is symbolic at best for Sarah, but it won’t be substantive for the nomination. Barack Obama proved that it takes massive, often fraudulent efforts it takes. Dr. Lynnette Long did extraordinary amount of research into the 2008 season. Even a blog exists documenting her work. DVDs have been made about it. Better to save the big moment for other the big moment. Iowa remains beloved and significant in proving the political mettle overall and will continue to dominate news. But real polling begins at NH. Caucuses should be gotten rid of anyway. Yet the Tea Party people deserved a paean and Iowans live in our hearts.
2. She is waiting out the month of September. The latest kerfuffle about the impending speech by the president puts Palin in context. The Zero August phenomenon makes it doubly tough. Why not give the president another shot at his own fantasy projects, let him speak again about how more of the same is needed. Let him notch another failure on the empty six-shooter! Most experts believe the legal deadlines begin to loom large in October. So Sarah Palin has a few more weeks to play out. Her style of campaigning, her manner of organizing, and her teams that lay dormant across the country since 2008, all of them let her do that to some extent. But once the giant awakens, watch out. It will never go back to sleep even if New York did.
3. She is waiting for the field to winnow itself some. Why deny others the limelight they deserve and enjoy. Let them bask in attention devoid of the Palin Presence that will suck the oxygen out of the air (though no fault of her, but the mindless obsession of the media mavens). Once Palin enters the race all attention will be on her. Some fell already, will Santorum, Huntsman, Paul, and Gingrich be the next ones to exit? They should be. Bachmann will be graceful and yield to Sarah, one hopes, either before or after Palin announces.
Sarah Palin will say something one way or another for sure. By her own admission she will do it sooner rather than never. The world waits with bated breath.
Meanwhile, the air over Indianola is heavy with cool, moist air, and the sun has gone out again. And left everyone wondering when will this all clear up?
On the day gold touched $1900, our president had his head buried in sand.
What does America really need today, more stimulus, or a Restoration?
Approximately one decade after the horrid infamy of the attacks on America, to be exact on September 3rd, 2011, in Indianola, Iowa, America will begin her Restoration.
Something is being planned by the good folk of Iowa on that day. Our dear Governor Sarah Palin will be there. But what will unfold on that day precisely is unimportant in detail, but very significant overall. For that day will mark the beginning of America’s Restoration.
On September 3rd, 2011, at Indianola, Iowa, Sarah Palin might throw her ring into the hat of the 2012 presidential sweepstakes, or, she might just reaffirm her call to a patriotic recommitment to America (my bet is on the latter) which will amount to a re-statement of what she has said all along: she will serve the nation if she sees no one fit willing to stand up to serve.
Indeed, on 9-3-2011 Sarah Palin might simply proclaim a call for patriotism, the need to serve the nation, to not give up, to keep the hope up, to rise up to the challenge that we are indeed a nation of exceptional people like none other (and not just like the Brits or the Greeks in their own minds – how odd indeed that our leader should have chosen the most moribund of loser nations as allusions).
Indeed, on 9-3-2011 Sarah Palin might even announce an exploratory committee, or even a Committee to Restore America (which would amount to the same), or just simply call upon Americans to ‘never forget’.
Whatever does Sarah Palin do at Indianola, Iowa, suffice it to say, that it will be a turning point for not only America but for this impending political season, pundits be damned.
It will be an act of Governor Palin on her terms, on her timing and at her own pace. One could even justify the timing as an effort to not distract from the true solemnity of the actual anniversary of ‘Nine Eleven’.
(In my heart of hearts, I believe Governor Sarah Palin to be so noble as to not exploit the actual date of 9-11-2011 – and indeed leave that date alone for the dignified observance it deserves- and, Sarah will use a date closer to the anniversary to refer to America’s greatness and need for restoration of self-confidence and prowess. Hence the meaningfulness of the Indianola, Iowa event.)
There is a new bus in town, and she is about to roll on ..
It’s not just a listening tour, discovery tour, or whistle-stop tour …
There is something special about this bus.
Our days of being lectured to and divided are over.
Our days of being bamboozled, hoodwinked, while at the same time being bullied and redistributed out of jobs and net worth, are over.
Our days of crumbling infrastructure, shovel-ready programs that aren’t quite as shovel ready as we thought, and job hemorrhaging are over.
Our days of being torn asunder between the proud and the apologetic are over.
Our days of being divided and frightened into socialism are over.
Let’s call it the Reunification Tour
SarahPAC (donate now) invites us all to follow the tour bus.
Something tells me, this One Nation Tour has more than meets the eye. Listen:
It’s been our belief at this blog, despite what the pundits and calendar watchers insist, that time is on Sarah Palin’s side. That it’s too early to toss the hat into the ring. But, here comes September and the school season.
Governor Palin has something slated for the 3rd day of September, what is it?
O, Say what you think,
That low growl yet hear,
At the end of that you tube clip ….
What’s that Mama Grizzly saying?
Could it be the Governor will announce some sort of move?
Formation of a committee.
A National Unity Forum, A Steering Committee.
Or, egad, will she announce she is running!
(Oh mercy, I can’t bear to think how vicious the attacks will be this time, but I am inured. It won’t hurt anymore, for we expect it now).
Go Sarah, Go!
Sarah Palin targets Illinois
Posted on: August 14, 2011
On the surface it looks like a pilgrimage. Visit Iowa State Fair, and then trek on over to Dixon, Illinois. For years now she fashioned herself after Mr. Reagan, as the last great hope for American Renewal on the world stage (instead of being the Apologist-in-Chief). But there is more than meets the eye to Governor Palin’s crossing the Mississippi. After all, punditry has it that besides California and New York, Illinois ranks at the top of the list of states ‘locked up’ for Mr. Obama. Home field advantage for the President is said to be strong, (unlike Al Gore circa 2000). So why does the Governor choose to play the symbolic gesture toward the land of 2 beloved presidents?
On the day Sarah Palin visited Illinois, Moody’s issued another warning threatening to downgrade the State’s credit rating.
The warning flew by under the radar, but the ever watchful Rich Miller of the mighty CapitolFaxBlog of Springfield reminded his readers of it, even as Sarah Palin was visiting the state.
Items:
The Illinois fiscal 2012 budget doesn’t address the state’s “sizeable backlog of unpaid bills and an unsustainable ascent” in spending for pension benefits, Moody’s Investors Service said…
Because of its financial weakness, Illinois is less well positioned than other states to handle a renewed downturn in the national economy…
Author Rich Miller then goes on to quote a local reporter Bill Cameron:
One of the credit rating agencies – Moody’s – is reportedly thinking about downgrading the credit rating of the state of Illinois and WLS Radio’s Bill Cameron says Illinois Republicans say this is no time for Gov. Pat Quinn to try to do more borrowing.
Republicans say they’ve blocked Quinn from borrowing more billions before and will again if he tries to do it in the current climate of rising interest rates.
An interesting side note is the Alaska tops the list of top 10 states that are in good standing per Moody’s. But back to the main point: why Sarah Palin targets Illinois, which may not be a blue state shoo in.
The state is dying fiscally, and dying for a Tea Party Revolt. It already gave the seat held by Mr. Obama to a Republican, and very nearly gave Bill Brady the governor mansion.
Current governor Pat Quinn called the tax increase passage, the proudest day of his life!
Illinois lost one more electoral vote based on the 2010 census.
Disillusionment was rampant at the recent fundraisers held by the President in Chicago recently. The protesters were his base, not the tea partiers.
Governor Palin has been to Illinois before, but mostly in ceremonial fashion. Today, the situation is different. The state is not exactly ripe for picking, such as say Indiana and Wisconsin might be, but it’s getting there. Considering that so much of Mr. Obama’s margin was new found enthusiasm, and that seems to be waning rather irreversibly, it’s not too far fetched to think that come 2012 Mr. Obama might end up being Al Gore 2000, rather than Walter Mondale 1984.
Considering that President Obama is about to launch a bust tour of the state to whip up his flagging support, Sarah Palin visit to Dixon and Springfield are all the more significant.
Governor Sarah Palin is undecided!
Will she run for President in 2012? She hasn’t made up her mind.
But then, she is in a Nobama state of mind!
Except that she didn’t use that bloggers’ shorthand of a word. Such is our Governor, a graceful politician after all. She is someone who knows her own mind quite well, as well as knows her time equally well. So she spoke her thoughts candidly while keeping her options open. I have no doubt that she is running, but it won’t be on others’ schedule.
According to the Daily Caller, when asked at the Iowa State Fair about making up her mind regarding entering the 2012 race, Sarah Palin simply said:
I’m of the mind of ABO — Anybody But Obama, at this time.
That answer and the attendant elaboration, and the fact that she has always admitted that the other candidates are quite qualified to run for president, all of it shows that Sarah Palin is following a two pronged strategy toward the 2012 election – keep pressure up, keep powder dry.
Consider all that has come to pass hitherto.
Obamacare came to visit and stayed despite being unwelcome and legal challenges still pending. Tea Party came to be born, blessed and baptized under fire, and very nearly mangled to death by innuendo. But it’s still here, wailing away. Our president goes around the world telling every one that we are not all that special, that Islam is an essential fabric of America or in inseparable part of American Spirit, even as the war upon civilized existence continues unabated worldwide. Journ-O-list came out of the closet and the stank up the whole party, pun intended. Only true believers trust reporters, and every one of them has taken a side openly. Openly opposed to Sarah Palin, that is.
All of that was before the mid-term election that bore her imprint quite deeply. In a way 2010 vindicated Sarah Palin singularly and ideologically. The Mama Grizzly will only get stronger and loom large going forward.
More recently, the birth certificate came out and was forgot promptly. Osama got killed and that fact too was forgot quickly, thanks in large measure to the anti-climactic timing and the administration’s over-calculated handling of the event. The two (now many little) wars drag on and the economy drags down. The president’s approval rates teeter on the brink of collapse, and so does any chance of a financial recovery. So many controversies, flaps, scandals, and non-events. And so many events that should have marked us for good, have only left us with a bad taste.
The one thing that remained constant prior to and since the ‘shellacking’ of 2010 has been the dual phenomena: slow decline of the President’s popularity and the never ending questions about the Governor. But then aren’t the two really connected!
What has truly been the singular event that captured the imagination of the nation, made the voters sit up and think, and got the pundits all agog was the very simple act of Sarah Palin resigning the governorship.
And the fact that she has delivered on the promise she made at the time of resignation – she would serve this nation as a private citizen as best as she could. That she did, travelling, writing, speaking and speaking out, and campaigning for like-minded candidates. She was as much the moving spirit behind the public’s education on death panels, as she was the spiritual mentor of the Tea Party movement. For all this, the Left never lost a chance at sliming her, including infamously seeking to blame her for the tragic attempt on a congresswoman’s life. But then, the Left never misses beat when it comes to spin, slime and slander.
Sarah Palin’s most ardent fans ‘just know’ that she is planning on running. Her critics fear the same. For three years now, she kept up this two pronged approach. On the one hand she kept up the attacks on the failures and shortcomings of the prevailing ideology and practice. On the other hand, she stayed in full public view, and unencumbered by title or office, not only fended off all ‘official’ investigations, but also moved incrementally, inexorably toward the inevitable – candidacy 2012.
Keep Pressure Up:
Sarah Palin continues to grow strong with the base. Her blogger support keeps growing steadily. Numerous blogs sprang up in the wake of her resignation. Networks of bloggers and supporters now exist. Though much, much more needs to happen, sees have been sown that will germinate rapidly and grow to awesome heights.
Every public issue has elicited a response from her. Be it taxes, bailouts, energy needs, debt issue, or the ground zero mosque, Sarah Palin opined forth, framed her values and presented herself in the clearest light. She could be a wonk when she chooses to, like on oil and gas matters. She could be poetic and emotive when the moment calls for it, such as on the mosque matter. But express self, she will. Whatever the average voter might say come 2012, one thing for sure, the world knows where Sarah Palin stands. Unless of course, the media decides to muddy the waters as they are won’t to do – as they have done with both Hillary and Sarah in 2008. Even McCain, the darling of the media circa GOP dominance, even the war hero fell by the wayside when media turned en masse toward Barack Obama in a sheer unabashed adulation.
However, Sarah Palin’s detractors rest never, as can be seen by the mindless comments some leave at this humble blog. Her every Tweet, Facebook posting, public appearance and speech provoke massive amounts of bile at the usual trash sites. The beltway buffoons continue to disparage her, but the average voter is going to tire of it, is already tired of it. The world is too much with us, the daily burdens of being are too real for too many of us. As they said, it’s the economy stupid, and those who in the past blindly followed the media that ennobled our uncompromising, ill-prepared president, at the expense of the governor, will begin to listen to her with a new keenness. At last in 2012, it will have become too painful for the middle class American to imbibe the koolade of left-wing criticism of Sarah Palin, and ignore the stark realities of one’s own life. That’s why she keeps speaking out. Just as she promised on that Independence day three years ago. (Remember, the only response the liberals could come with back then was to float rumors about her divorce, ah wretchedness!)
Sarah Palin’s opinions are seldom held back. Seldom blunt, or overstate the case. She offered measured critique of every major issue, and on every event that occurred since 2008. She never singled out the president or the white house, but instead ‘spread the wealth around’. She included in her critique her own party colleagues, high priests of the administration, the congress and other public institutions whenever they deviated from her values and vision. Commonsense Conservative is going to be a phrase one will hear a lot of.
Keep Powder Dry:
The pundits keep putting pressure on Palin to announce, asking themselves, each other, the wind currents and whoever will listen, when will she announce. They come up with fake deadlines, phony time frames and counts the days of their broadcasts, to ask if time is running out on Sarah. The answer to all is the same, time is on the side of Sarah Palin. The longer she is in the news, the longer the public tires of the punditry. Being in the news can hurt her no longer. So much mud has been slung against her, the slings and arrows hurt no more, and in fact could easily turn into boomerang. Look back at how pathetic they sound when they ask Michelle Bachmann or Mitt Romney some silly question, and how the answer is received – any answer at all. Gradually, it seems to me, the lefty media is shooting itself in the foot. And by carrying on like the anointed arbiters of public opinion, it is they who will eventual lose all credibility. The average voter is liable to ask a year hence, is it possible that every political leader is so completely useless that only the current head of state can lead us out of here, after bringing us here in the first place? 2012 will be a far cry from 2004 when GWB managed to scrape past Kerrey. Things are a lot worse now than back then. If Sarah Palin waits and serves, the voter will come to her. Hence she keeps the powder dry.
There is another dimension to her current style of non-campaign campaigning. By letting all the other GOP leaders play their public role in the pre-primary, pre-announcement stage play, she gracefully admits their individuality, substance, and public spirit. There is a certain generosity of spirit in letting these men and women be center stage, and have the media spotlight on them instead of the Governor sucking the oxygen out of the scene. I believe this is actually a calculated homage sort of gesture on Sarah Palin’s part in not glomming on to publicity (notwithstanding rabid leftwing accusations to the contrary). She knows the media will swarm around her when she chooses. Why monopolize all the attention. Let others take a turn. After all the one that survives will help her enormously when she decides to announce. (Fun to ponder: Palin & Perry in 2912)
If Sarah Palin is allowing herself to hold back, and let others debate, preen and strut, there is also a certain benefit to her that is real but not direct.
Americans have seen recently vicious attacks from the the media and the Left on every GOP candidate. The worst form of innuendo, silly research and back story spinning have come out about all nomination seekers. By letting others take the heat and glare for a change, Sarah is exposing the vacuity of the commentaries. Sooner or later the casual voter is going to ask if anybody is good enough for these media people. (Well we all know the answer to that). Sarah Palin is letting others get a taste of what she faced in 2008. If they can take it, good for them. If they survive and flourish, better yet. Palin herself will wait until this shakeout process runs its course. There is nothing in it for her at this early stage. Such a bloodied primary process would have been inevitable anyway, but why give the liberal media something to gloat over.
Take your time Governor. For we know you will do right by America …. Run!
[I don’t know about legal deadlines and regulatory cut-offs. But speaking as an ordinary voter, January 2012 is soon enough for the decision. As a matter of fact, it wouldn’t be bad at all if the first primary were held on the first day of Spring. The whole formal campaign season is too darn long as it is. And the modern technology makes it even seem longer and over-crowded with non-events. A gentler pace to the primaries is long over due, and can only benefit the true electoral process, notwithstanding the self-serving views of the pundit class.]
One other matter.
Come First Monday in October the US Supreme Court will start a new term, and could well begin a new round of debate over Obamacare. Indeed, by the end of the year we may well know the fate of this monstrosity of a government undertaking. By November, Sarah Palin may very well stand vindicated at least partially. Or, the president might well admit having to rework the master legislation. It will enhance Sarah Palin’s vision of governance. The public will look at her more objectively, directly.
Finally, there is always the possibility however remote, that as disillusionment spreads, a primary challenge could rise on the Democrat side, even if the punditry doth protest too much. Already there is sentiment that Hillary would have been a better president. And that can only help Sarah Palin.
Over one million results to the phrase ‘primary challenged to Mr. Obama in 2012’ could be ominous. Who knows what discontent lurks in the heart of the winter that’s around the corner?
Time is on the side of Sarah Palin – keep pressure up, keep powder dry.
Its a beautiful thing. Sarah Palin’s itinerary this weekend.
A visit to India followed right on its heels by a visit to Israel.
Aye, aye, captain, oh my captain.
Here is a clip of her visit to the sacred worshipping wall (as prime minister Begin used to admonish us to refer to it). Or, the Kotel, as Yid with Lid advises.
Got to love Sarah. She didn’t mince words, just referred to ‘touching the corner stone of my faith’. How can you not adore this honest creature!
Now that the naughty amongst you have somehow gotten over the smoking hot news presenter in the above clip, head on over to the one and only Atlas, and read more. Baruch Hashem
Sarah Palin speech in India – Just the right note, just the right crowd, just the right topics.
Posted on: March 20, 2011
Official links from India Today Conclave:
Full text of the introduction and speech.
Videos of the introduction and speech
One thing must be made clear at the outset if this blog post. The venue and context of Sarah Palin’s speech in India were significant. Let that not be diminished. This was no mere campaign rally, or stump speech. The ideas might have sounded familiar to some, but the phrasing and presentation were quite creative and well-crafted.
Short of an address to a joint session of the Indian Parliament, with both Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha present, the India Conclave was the most distinguished panel of political, civic and business leaders, honorable men and women of India, world guests (and yes, a few agitators) that could be assembled in one place for a dinner-lecture. Specially so, considering that the whole point of the exercise was to open a window that’s seldom seen through: an out of office Republican in India.
A lot was asked of the speech, in terms of the goals to be achieved: her own self-introduction; her sense of self in the America of today; the obligatory praise of hosts and host nation; the essential acknowledgement of bilateral values; distinguish herself from others of her (political) class and intent; the framing of her theme; exposition and justification of her ideas. That was a tall order for the tail end of any conclave. It was made even more challenging for Sarah Palin by her status as an individual citizen. All things considered, she did remarkably well. (A part of me can’t help compare this speech to the phony, manufactured, ceremonial gilt-edging of a candidate in 2008 going to Berlin to get stamped for a ‘foreign policy speech’ specially after deigning to speak at the Brandenburg gate no less! Sarah Palin’s objective here was much more humble and result proportionately better-rewarded)
What Sarah Palin represents today:
It is important to put Sarah Palin of today in the proper, larger American context first. In her experiences we see an inkling of the passions that raged about in this country. In her sufferance and successes, we find evidence of what America has been like, these past few years. Her life bears witness to the beauties and blisters of the American soul, circa 2008. In the decades to come, it will be said that Sarah Palin, even more than Barack Obama, is verily the palimpsest of the American psyche in the new millennium. That is no exaggeration! She has been at once both the outlet to, and the target of, the American angst. In short, she has been marked by America. This point is critical and needs to be undestood in depth.
The visible personae and public interactions of Sarah Palin reflect to a certain extent the play of subterranean social and political impulses of American electorate of a particular time. In her life we see: how Americans look at their leaders (or chose not to); how Americans respect their women candidates (or wantonly disregard all norms of civil public behavior); the blunt expression of a tempestuous electorate (or, its incisive effect of slash and bleed); finally, the power of our changeable culture to move people aloft (or tear them down without mercy) – all with no regard to the essential value, virtue or worth of candidate of issue in question. The raw brutality of democracy in action left its indelible imprint on Sarah Palin, like on none another in living memory.
But how did this happen at all?
Sisyphean challenge Sarah Palin had been up against:
The new millennium brought considerable psychosis to America’s collective consciousness. First there was the tumult of Bush Vs Gore and its rancid aftertaste. Then came the trauma of WTC attacks, followed by two frustrating wars. Finally, and along the way, blossomed violent and vitriolic Bush-hatred which burned with the fuel of ‘truthers’ (at one time 10% Americans thought it was an inside job). The final blow was the pied piper psychosis of the children of Hamelin led away from reality by a charismatic leader, aided and abetted by the media, further fueled by sexism, misogyny and hatred of a (Hillary) Clinton. It all served to create a culture of incubation for the ‘nattering nabobs of negativism’ the ‘blame America first crowd’ and the uneasy commingling of the sacred and the profane in American electoral ethos. Sarah found herself in this context, now she had to catch a break with an audience willing to giver her a break. Did she help herself?
Some amazing points from Sarah Palin’s speech:
– She highlighted Energy security right away. Drill baby drill became a nuanced phrase of ‘bridge fuels that will lead someday to renewable sources of energy’. An extraordinary subtlety that nearly flies past noticing.
- -She found an elegant way of equating the quest for freedom of the two countries, going beyond the usual platitudes, by making this wonderful comparison between the Boston Tea Party and Gandhi’s Dandi Salt March. Both were pivotal events in rousing the conscience and consciousness of the involved adversaries. It’s true, nothing warms the hearts of Indians than be reminded of the Mahatma’s brilliant activism.
– She pointed out that Alaska is half the size of India. When you stop to think about it, an absolutely astounding factoid. Yet without getting lost in the inevitable easy digressions, she uses that sheer size idea to illuminate her personality, lifestyle, value system etc. A product of my land is who I am, she seems to say.
– You could never go wrong with an Indian audience by casting a wary eye on China. Indians can never forget the brutal Chinese invasion of Tibet (driving out the Dalai Lama to India), or the malicious invasion of India in the early Sixties, just months after signing a peace and friendship treaty. Indians are actually terrified of China, specially because of the underhanded nuclear and missile technology transfer from China to Pakistan, and Chinese influence in Nepal, Bhutan, Burma and Indian Northeast. Palin was perfect in wondering out loud about Chinese growing military might. She phrased it just perfectly.
– She handled the idea of her being pro-life (read anti-abortion) very subtly. By using Indians’ own respect for Mother Theresa, via a reference to her own home and large family, Sarah Palin deftly equated her own pro-life stance with the Indian (Hindu) reverence for ‘the sanctity of life’.
– On foreign policy, Sarah Palin proved quite astute in talking about the de-hyphenation in the US-India-Pakistan relationship. Indians are eternally sore, the public more than the politicians, that US sees India and Pakistan as two sides of a coin. This equivalency, and the attendant moral outrage, is a sore point with Indians. Indians wish to be dealt with on their own terms. Sarah did right to use the right verbiage here.
– Most Indians I am sure died (pleasantly) when Sarah Palin said This is as true in Alaska, as in Andhra Pradesh. The choice went beyond verbal book-ends, AP in India is the hotbed of entrepreneurship, much courted by foreign investors, and very forward looking. And, Sarah pronounces Andhra Pradesh perfectly. Even better than Mrs… Sonia Gandhi.
– Who amongst us is not chauvinistic, and who amongst us does not love to bask in the reflected glory of all those we can connect with. Sarah is hip to that, and nicely mentions Nikki Haley, a descendent of India. And what a nifty way of doing so, by paying tribute to Indian acceptance of female leaders. (Sorry, Bobby Jindal)
Finally, its important to frame this speech against similar others, and those that happen at cattle calls (CPAC) and pilgrimage sites (IA, NH), in advance of tossing the ring. True to her style and agenda, Sarah Palin’s actions have generally been ends in themselves, while being a means to an end eventually. So too this speech. It stands by itself, but it could be part of a larger play. The game has many many more such plays. And, Sarah is playing them out in public. That’s her genius.
More than any other ‘opposition leader’ the world over (and politicians travel abroad all the time), Sarah Palin conducted herself with dignity, grace, wit and forbearance as the keynote speaker. She gave a darn good account of herself, and even a better accounting of her vision of America without diminishing America of today, (this last item seems to be lost on the current occupant of WH).
It was a great speech, typical of Sarah Palin, and only she could have delivered it in that down home, friendly cadence that is charmingly and uniquely hers.
[A word of advise to Sarah Palin - do more such speeches.
In Israel, Australia, West Africa, South America. And yes, do go to a country that predominantly or substantially Islamic. Not the gulf area, though.]
- In: India | Sarah Palin 2012 | Uncategorized
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A late observation:
It’s amazing how perfectly Sarah Palin pronounced the name of the southern Indian state Andhra Pradesh.
And, why did she mention that state, after all, she was only looking to make a point of geographical bookends! Did she do it to show off, to hint her awareness of Telangana headlines, acknowledge the value of Cyberabad to US economy, or is she foreshadowing future for Andhra Pradesh in a Sarah Palin administration? All very intriguing items…
The Q and A session just started.
Sarah scores hugely with Indians when she sounds alarm about China. Historical negative relations, China’s big brother approach to Asian countries, aggression against India — all cause Sarah’s China comments to be warmly received by Indians. Sorry Americans, forget the cheap crap you buy.
“I am not going to sit back and take it..”
Her comments on mainstream media gets a loud applause …
Sarah Palin in Q and A session after her speech
Thank you Rediff for livestreaming – we love our governor!
First things first.
The haters are out in full strength, with their usual vapid gusto and vitriol.
It behooves the followers of Sarah Palin to get into the act, and answer them jab for jab.
Go here to listen, get on facebook and twiiter. Support the lady!
Amazing Fact:
“Alaska is huge, almost as big as half of India”
“It is false, that we don’t need to drill for new oil in America”
“My vision for America — boldly engages in leadership”
“India’s strong women leaders..”
“Mother Theresa’s message of the sanctity of live”
“Our two democracies understand the hunger for freedom”
Sarah Palin compares The Boston Teaparty with The Dandi Salt March — awesome, extraordinary and original feat of rhetoric .. Bravo Sarah!
The greatest terrorist threat is? “Nuclear weapons in the hands of terrorist groups”
President Obama often gets praise for pronouncing Paaakisthaan so well, will Sarah Palin get praise for pronouncing Ahmedinejad right?
Bravo Sarah!!!
She scores again!!
She uses the magical word, “De-Hyphenation” a code word in diplomacy — India and Pakistan are not equal, equivalent or equivocal in US view — that alone wins her more popularity in India and among Indian-Americans.
