Posted on 07/03/2009 9:10:15 AM PDT by yongin
Dear Governor Palin,
You’re blowing it.
We haven’t met, but you might remember I was one of the first columnists to tout you for John McCain’s running mate. I cheered you mightily when Senator McCain selected you, and I still believe that you were the smartest choice he could have made given the obstacles before him. I’m also assuming you want to run for president some day.
There’s a reason why the Left and much of the media establishment hated you from day one. Some hated you out of the fear that you might stop Barack Obama’s unfolding coronation. Others because you seemed to expose the snobbery, arrogance, and ideological pieties of elite feminism. Your beauty, your status as a working mom, your blue-collar husband, your bravery in taking on the political establishment in Alaska, your proud status as a pro-lifer and mother of a special-needs child: All of these things were — and are — deeply threatening to a secular left-wing cultural elite.
All of this was an incredible compliment. Powerful people don’t fear the powerless. Remember how Mike Huckabee borrowed that Air Force maxim when he got grief during the primaries? “If you’re not taking flak, you’re not over the target.” Well, you were over the target.
But not anymore. Oh, you’re still taking flak, but not because you strike fear in the hearts of Democrats. You’re taking flak because you’re striking fear in the hearts of Republicans. For Democrats, fairly or not, you’ve become a laughingstock. And for some of McCain’s campaign managers, you’ve become a convenient excuse for their failures.
But while McCain’s strategists do not cover themselves in glory for scapegoating you, you are not without blame either. You do seem to think the best advice is for you to stay just the way you are. Leaders listen to the advice they don’t necessarily want to hear.
For starters, every time I see you on TV, you’re whining about unfair press coverage. Don’t get me wrong: Much of it is unfair, and some of it deserves a response. But it’s not presidential. It’s not even gubernatorial. You are constantly taking the bait, taking up the fights your biggest fans want you to take up.
But here’s the thing: Don’t listen to your biggest fans. Don’t alienate them either, but don’t think that because the Palin4Pres crowd cheers, you’re making progress. Politics is ultimately about persuasion, and you seem entirely uninterested in that, preferring instead to play the victim. Well, victims don’t get elected president. Ronald Reagan was a laughingstock for liberals and despised by the press. But he didn’t whine or take the bait.
Second, peddling a few platitudes and truisms about free markets and limited government is no substitute for really knowing what you’re talking about. Yes, you can talk well about the stuff you know — oil drilling, energy, etc. — but beyond your comfort zone, you fall back on bumper-sticker language that sounds fine to the people who already agree with you but is useless in winning over skeptics.
President Bush had the same problem you do, which is why there’s a hunger for Republicans who can effectively articulate and sell our policies and philosophy. That’s why the wonks have the upper hand. Mitt Romney, Indiana governor Mitch Daniels, Louisiana governor Bobby Jindal, and other hands-on types are what the party wants and, frankly, needs.
Here’s the good news: You have time. Here’s the better news: You have something no one else in the party has — charisma. And I don’t mean you have the most charisma like it’s a consolation prize for not being elected prom queen. If money could buy what you have, Romney would have bought it all by now. Good politicians can learn how to win over audiences, but the great ones are born with the ability. Reagan had it. Clinton had it. Obama has it. You have it. You are the “It Girl” of the GOP.
What you lack, you can learn. If knowing how to describe the situation in Pakistan or explain the “doughnut hole” in health-care coverage was all you needed to get elected, an intern with a subscription to The Economist could be president.
So here’s my advice. Stay home and do your job and your homework. You’ll still be a national figure come the primaries. But if you can’t surprise your detractors with your grasp of policy when you re-emerge on the national stage, you won’t win the nomination. More important, you won’t deserve to.
In before the trashing begins. Jonah makes his points well.
Palin would do well to heed his advice.
dead on...I have argued in the past that Palin can show she is presidential material by articulating conservative ideas and showing that they work by her implementation of them in Arkansas. She needs to preach that. Her accomplishments will pave the way for her. She needs to stick to that.
Appears Jonah is another RINO for Romney.
And Jonah is not the only person saying this.
More advice for the doctors of smarts.
Even though he's entitled to his opinion, HE'S OUT of TOUCH with the reality of the situation.
Sarah is actually gaining momentum and stature thanks to efforts such as Goldberg's.
RE: Jonah
What a load of condescending bullcr@p!
You mean, the Mittbots are the ones saying it. Oh, and all the other RINO elites. When Mark Levin, Rush Limbaugh and Michelle Malkin echo the same sentiments, then, perhaps, I might listen. Until then, these swipes are nothing more than elitist bravado based on liberal perceptions of the cult of personality.
I made this point about the Letterman controversy but got lambasted by many here on FR.. She was playing the victim and falling into the trap. Victims don’t get elected president, leaders do.
That would be great for Arkansas, and also Alaska. : )
don-o,
I agree with you, and will gladly share some of the heat. A defining characteristic of conservatism is that we don’t march in lock step. That’s for the Liberal Fascists.
Before the flames begin, please note that I (like Jonah) have a great deal of admiration for Sarah and hope that she succeeds.
I would rather hear from someone who actually has done something, not just written about what others have done. Does that make sense?
Dear Jonah,
Go pound sand.
She carried on the tit-for-tat with Letterman for too long.
I posted that as a poltiical observer — nothing else.
Anybody on the inside of the GOP or who has been writing for them is IMO part of the establishment - I will not vote for Romney because he is the establishment and as Krauthammer (sp?) just said he is next in line - how well has that worked for us in the past.
I will not deal with another “progressive” republican and will vote third party if that’s the case. The last thing this country needs is another elitist politician coming in and trampling on the constitution.
McCain, Bush, Dole, Obama, Clinton etc. they have all been the same and Romney would be no better.
Does Palin need to brush up? Yes, but as far as I’m concerned Goldberg doesn’t understand why those on both sides of the aisle don’t like her - she is a threat to the political machine plain and simple. She is not beholden to anyone except average citizens.
Let’s see how much her PAC has raised this month when they report that will be quite an indidication I think.
I have been hearing more and more support for her and people who are willing to give her a chance - and this is in Maryland of all places. Last weekend I was in Baltimore watching the US play Brazil with under 30’s and early 30 yr. olds. They asked who I liked and when I said her name I was afraid of the flak I would get - I got none - they agreed that both parties sucked and they wanted someone who was on the outside.
Stopped reading right there. Anyone that thinks Mutt Romney has any chance of winning a Republican nomination, much less the election, is a flaming idiot!
I agree. Now we better find a foxhole.
I agree 100% with Goldberg’s assessment.
Sarah has what it takes to be a great leader; now she must do her homework.
Ronald Reagan was 57 when he first ran for President, and that was after a decade of writing and delivering speeches, and his first year as governor of California. He didn’t win the nomination until eight years later (and another term as governor).
So for us Palin fans, it is expecting too much of her to be ready for the top of the ticket at this point. It takes time and experience, and she needs to shore up her weaknesses.
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