Tim Rutten on Sarah Palin: Cunning, off the charts

The Los Angeles Times' Jacket Copy ^ | December 1, 2010 | Carolyn Kellogg

[2ndDivisionVet]

In our pages, the L.A. Times' Tim Rutten reviews Sarah Palin's "America by Heart: Reflections on Family, Faith, and Flag," giving her high marks for cunning, if not sincerity.

Two interesting things stand out in this latest manifesto (and, make no mistake, that's what it is): One is that Palin clearly has widened her circle of advisors, at least when it comes to her uncredited ghost writers, who have stitched a veritable laundry list of current conservative preoccupations into "America by Heart," along with extended quotations from an array of figures, including Margaret Thatcher, James Q. Wilson, poet Karl Shapiro and all the requisite Founders and Framers (De Tocqueville too, of course). The other -- and perhaps most instructive -- thing to be gleaned from this book is just how shrewd a politician Palin is. Professional political consultants sometimes like to talk about a candidate's "RLC quotient." The acronym stands for Rat-Like Cunning -- and it's meant to be a compliment indicating not only a deep instinctual shrewdness but also a willingness to fight ruthlessly when forced.

Off the evidence in "America by Heart," Palin's RLC quotient is off the charts...

When Palin resigned as governor of Alaska, a number of experienced pundits firmly opined that she'd committed political suicide. They didn't reckon on her shrewd political instincts, which were telling her — correctly, as it turns out — how much easier it would be to seek the presidency as the unaccountable symbol of a populist upwelling than it would be from the statehouse....

[2ndDivisionVet]

Yet they still believe that Mr. Obama wrote his books by himself! [snort]

[Candor7]

Tim Rutten just hasn't gotten it quite yet.

Governor Palin has what it takes.

You can be sure of that.

Its up to her to decide whether she should alter her colloquial methods and go over to statesman speak.

You gotta remember , she is sittin' there in Beck's studio bein' just who she is, a self made American, born without a silver spoon in her mouth, just like we need.This is no time to have insecure penchants because of elitists who sound good and say only what everyone wants to hear. We are far too used to that.

Could she stare down the North Koreans?

" You Betcha!"

Not only that, she would lay a hurtin' on 'em if they pushed like they just have. She would not call the UN. Thats good enough for me. " Stand with our Allies!"( But Obama , you see wants to redefine and revise history, milions will die as a result, Sarah will not allow it in her goodness.)

I think what she says is great, and I love the way she says it.I certainly won't become an apologist for her quality of speech.LOL. But then, I came up through an environment just like hers, with deer and moose hangin' in the wood shed every fall, pickin' fiddle heads , strawberries, blue berries, raspberries and cranberries, fishing for salmon.That's another world from what most Americans know. And it is a good world. That's what her speech quality reminds me about.Sophisticated America has lost touch with the strength of our land, that good earth beneath our feet.That's part of sophisticated America's burgeoning malaise. It is that strength that makes Sarah Palin almost invulnerable.

She is exactly what priggish, overly sophisticated America needs.And that is why the liberal fascists are scared to death of her. Sarah Palin is just not sophisticated enough for them to destroy her. Sophistication equals attack-ability. They can't get a handle on her and so resort to desperate measures of lying, misquoting, scurrilous attacks on her children. She just breezes right through them.Do you get that part? I think its a riot of mal-attempted defamation.No conservative should fall for it.

This attempted defamatory process is also highly entertaining and most Americans actually have evolved to really love her after being entertained.The more she is attacked, the more her support grows.

The enemies of America have a tremendously skilled and effective adversary in Sarah Palin. If she aces liberal fascists like she has shown us , can you imagine how she would handle bad boys like Kim Jong Un? I would pay to see that. As a matter of fact, I WILL PAY to see that, as much as I can afford to, right into Governor Palin's campaign fund.(I may work for her campaign directly, the resume is in.)

BTW, other rustic figures of America where denigrated in the same way as Sarah is today.. There were several, but Congressman David Crockett comes to mind. How many of us think he would NOT have made a good president? Its really laughable. He would have made a fine president.So will Governor Palin.

Tim Rutten's greatest faux pas is that he doesn't think ordinary Americans can rise to greatness. He is dead wrong on that score.Thats the measure of his faith in the people.He has none.

[bareford101]

I would like to see rutten’s words on the fiction which is obamanation’s so called books.... which he didn’t write.... but what else is new with him? truth? I think not.

come on rutten! fair is fair

[2ndDivisionVet]

The Israelis think she’s next: They’re stalling the Obama administration waiting for her.

[E. Pluribus Unum]

[katana]

Actually, the religious among them who know anything about how she (and most Americans, but especially Bible toting Protestants) feel about Israel and its people are or should be praying for it. The Israeli flag on her desk in the governor’s office was not an ornament for show.

[JPG]

President Palin’s arrival in Tel Aviv would be treated as a very BIG deal.

[muawiyah]

Sarah Palin pretty much reflects the common values of the nation. That means she doesn't have to be all that cunning to deal with the lunatic fringe.

At the same time for all the additional advisors she has, and ghost writers, etc et al ad nauseum, she hasn't quoted any Freeper Threads at length ~ but she does use our best soundbytes in her public speaking engagements.

Your typical leftwingtard would probably have difficulty quoting us.

[unspun]

IOW... “Owwww! Waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!”

[The Wizard]

bttt

[Candor7]

She had better hurry up, or there won’t be much of a country left.

We may have to build it from scratch, after we do a little house cleaning.

[dools0007world]

Starting over again, if you think about it, is exactly what we must do. And I mean throw it all out and write a new book.

[unseen1]

As far as I know this book was not ghostwritten. Palin herself wrote most of her 1st book. reading the book it sounds like Palin talking. That is very hard to fake.

[unseen1]

NYT times piece said Palin has 4 yes 4 staff. she writes all of her facebook posts and nothing with her name on it leaves without her checking and signing off on it. this book was not ghostwritten.

[2ndDivisionVet]

She’s only one individual in a remote state. “What are you and I doing to help her?” is the real question.

[Candor7]

Yep, start over.....just gotta build myself one of these.

I figure they will want to come and stop me.

[MayflowerMadam]

Absolutely. Solidarity with Israel is mandatory, and true (”Bible-toting”) Christians have always known this.

[Candor7]

$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$ for now.

When she announces, then the ground battle starts.

Get ready for door to door.I am preparing now.Hell our whole neighborhood is.

It will be a take our country back campaign.

[excopconservative]

Is anyone likely to pick up Sarah Palin’s “America by Heart” who isn’t already in her corner?

---

It’s OK, no one is going to read this book and have their mind changed about Sarah Palin. They hope.

[muawiyah]

You are assuming too much. I didn't suggest she didn't write her own book. But Fur Shur if you want to hurry along the process, and you're a newbie at book writin' you might well bring one in as an advisor.

There are, in fact, professional bookwriters who'd be happy to help her for free.