"How's that hopey-changey stuff workin' out for ya?"
Sarah Palin's parody of Barack Obama's presidential campaign slogan elicited enthusiastic applause and a roar of laughter during a February 2010 Opryland Hotel engagement (Klein 21), and the trademark question has delighted her supporters many times since. Certainly, the size and exuberance of Palin's fan base help to explain the popularity of her memoir Going Rogue: An American Life (2009), which, according to HarperCollins, sold 700,000 copies during the first week (Barbour n.p.).
Writing her memoir was such a priority for Palin that she cites it as one of the reasons she resigned as governor of Alaska seventeen months early. Palin wasted no time writing and publishing Going Rogue, completing the 413-page book in approximately four months (Fitzpatrick n.p.) with the help of ghostwriter Lynn Vincent, who has co-authored several books and writes for WORLD, a Christian news magazine.
Although Palin has been attacked for collaborating with an experienced writer, her supporters respond by saying that Lance Armstrong, Hillary Clinton, former CIA chief George Tenet, and other entertainment, political, and sports celebrities have employed them, too. Some of her critics say four months is not long enough to write a reputable book, but, again, others disagree: "When she resigned as governor, she had a lot more time and was able to really devote herself full-time [sic] to writing the book," said Tina Andreadis of HarperCollins. "That's really all that there is" (Fitzpatrick n.p.).
Accounting for Palin's celebrity status requires more than an analysis of the content and popularity of her memoir, which will be followed with the pre-Christmas 2010 publication of her second book, America by Heart: Reflections on Family, Faith, and Flag. Unlike political memoirs by Hillary Clinton, John McCain, and Barack Obama, Going Rogue may or may not be a narrative intended to propel Palin into public office. Although there is no question that the book has two purposes -- to respond formally to her whirlwind 2008 vice presidential candidacy and to make clear her political position -- she has not announced plans to run for president or for any other political office.
Although addressing Palin's account of her personal and political development in Going Rogue is the purpose of this essay, a reference to two cover photographs and their accompanying stories in a prominent news magazine provides an important symbolic and historical context for this study. The Nov. 23, 2009, and June 21, 2010 covers of Newsweek symbolize Palin's ascendancy in the American political sphere in a way that her memoir cannot. The controversial cover from 2009, which originally ran in Runner's World, features Palin in running clothes with her elbow on the American flag. The accompanying headlines reads, "How Do You Solve a Problem Like Sarah?: She's Bad News for the GOP -- and for Everybody Else, Too." On the 2010 Newsweek cover, the photo of a conservatively dressed Palin -- her head enveloped by a halo -- is displayed above the headline: "Saint Sarah: What Palin's Appeal to Conservative Christian Women Says about Feminism and the Future of the Religious Right."
The first cover story ridicules then-Governor Palin and dismisses her by stating that she is "bad news" for everyone. Although still parodying her, the second story acknowledges her importance to those who respect her religious perspective and who share at least some of her political views. Reporter Lisa Miller, whose expertise at Newsweek is the history and impact of religion and who wrote "Saint Sarah," said she considers Palin a phenomenon in American politics.
On June 14, 2010, Fox News commentator Bill O'Reilly interviewed Miller in a segment entitled "Is Newsweek's 'Saint Palin' Cover Story Mocking or Praising Palin?" "I didn't think it was a bad article," O'Reilly tells Miller. "It's not a slam. You didn't write a slam." Assuring him that criticizing Palin was not her intention, Miller said, "I'm trying to explain to people that what Sarah Palin is offering conservative, Bible-believing women is something very, very powerful ... I think one of the things that's so appealing about her is that she has this universal female message, and that, you know, the left overlooks it to its own peril."
This analysis of Going Rogue begins where the "The O'Reilly Factor" ends. Unlike Hillary Clinton's Living History or Barack Obama's Dreams from My Father: A Story of Race and Inheritance, Going Rogue is dedicated primarily to a different kind of underrepresented community, one not often celebrated by intellectual elites or addressed in academic journals. The "bless their hearts" and "you betcha" vernacular that alienates some of Palin's critics endears her to others. What some consider her convoluted sentence structure -- "Look out, Washington, because there's a whole stampede of pink elephants crossing the line, and the ETA stampeding through is November 2, 2010. Lotta women comin' together" (Halperin 33) -- makes perfect sense to those who speak as she does and who empathize with her and concur with her message.
Given the polish of Palin's two-minute video released July 8, 2010, it is clear that Palin is becoming more confident and coherent as she learns from political image-makers. "Palin's video proves that she is savvy and sophisticated enough to harness her star power for political effect," writes Mark Halperin in "A Foot in the Race." Calling her "the most arresting political figure other than the President" (33), Halperin, like Miller and other journalists, recognizes her appeal and acknowledges her evolution as a public figure. "Many Christian women loathe Palin, of course, and many men love her, but a certain kind of conservative, Bible-believing woman worships her," Miller writes. "Palin has her faults, but the left is partially to blame for her ascent. Its native mistrust of religion, of conservative believers in particular, left the gap that Palin now fills" ("Saint Sarah" n.p.).
Certainly, what Miller has called a "mom of faith" movement and a "mom uprising" ("Saint Sarah" n.p.) and Halperin has described as a "mom awakening" ("A Foot in the Race" 32) helps to explain the popular appeal and financial success of Going Rogue. This essay addresses the historical context, the literary impact, and the social implications of Palin's memoir and addresses the place of autobiography, memoir, and personal essays in the political arena.
Going Rogue as Political Memoir
Yes I am. When will her documentary be completed? I suspect the Fox contract is open ended and negotiable. You still may be right about the Reagan 100th Birthday announcement. .
Great photo. I hope the documentary is done by February 6th. .
