Posted on 01/26/2011 9:43:02 AM PST by 2ndDivisionVet
Rush Limbaugh is fond of saying the left will always tell you whom they fear by making that person the focus of their most virulent attacks. The left despises Sarah Palin. They say she is stupid and incapable of ever assuming the role of president. They mock her education, (B.S. University of Idaho), her small town background and her political accomplishments ( 2006 - 2009 Governor of Alaska ). When she resigned the governorship, they said she was a quitter. Just recently, the left indicted her as being responsible for the shooting of Congresswoman Gibbs in Arizona.
But what of pundits on the right, the Peggy Noonan-Karl Rove types? They hold Palin in equally low esteem. And what of conservative women? Many just viscerally dislike her. Ask them about Palin. You’ll get a response which begins with a shaking of the head and some comment about being inexperienced. Press them for facts. You will find most of these women ignorant of Palin’s background and remarkable accomplishments. Why is that?
Is it because Sarah Palin does not look at all like the admired but camera-challenged women in government, such as Hillary Clinton and Justice Sotomeyer? She has not the stern, formal look of a Maggie Thatcher, the British Prime Minister who turned around England’s economy nor of Golda Meir, the tough former leader of Israel. Palin is softer, attractive, plain spoken albeit with a sometimes irritating voice. Does her appearance put people, especially women, off?
All but three of our presidents in the last hundred years graduated from elite universities, often with law degrees. Truman did not attend college. Ike graduated from West Point, and Reagan graduated from Eureka College in Illinois. Those three are considered among the best of presidents by most. Reagan and Truman were thought stupid by some. Is it that Palin did not graduate from an elite university that causes some conservative pundits to reject her as unintelligent?
George W. Bush was considered stupid and incompetent by the governing elite because he actually believed in God and prayed daily. This despite two Ivy League degrees.
Sarah Palin is openly Christian and prays regularly. She was president of a Christian group in high school. She is “pro life” and rejected terminating her last pregnancy when she found she was carrying a baby with Down’s Syndrome. Perhaps that is the problem for some of her critics.
It seems unlikely that her performance as mayor of Wasilla, cutting taxes while expanding the town’s facilities so that it could grow, would be anything but a plus. Just so her role as a member of the Alaska Oil and Gas Conservation Commission. She outed two corrupt officials, one of whom was chairman of the state Republican Party.
Was she wrong in running for governor to oust a corrupt and wasteful officer of her own political party? Was it lack of wisdom which led her to sell the state plane, cut expenses of her office by 75 percent and pass a bipartisan ethics bill? Was she impolite in chasing away the oil company lobbyists so that she could start work on a stalled pipeline for natural gas? Not likely.
President Obama was elected because he appeared to be extraordinary. His academic pedigree and soaring rhetoric shielded from voters his appalling lack of real-world experience and complete lack of substantial accomplishments. His presidency is struggling.
By contrast, Sarah Palin, despite her talents and obvious achievements, seems very ordinary. Americans, believing the smears and punditry, will likely reject Palin without really getting to know her. Once again the nod will go to a member of the cultural elite, a group which has routinely failed to govern well.
*****
William Dixon is a graduate of Columbia University, New York Medical College and the USF College of Business Administration. He was an assistant professor of surgery at the University of Georgia before entering private practice. He served in the Army as a surgeon and as a Special Forces Officer, achieving the rank of Lieutenant Colonel. Dr. Dixon can be reached at Wdixon16@yahoo.com.
She’s a gurl?
I love her dearly. But she is much like our Nancy Pelousy. Dearly beloved among party and conservative activists. Yet hated and despised with a passion by the other party. In other words... a lightening rod.
Her ideology is perfect imo. But her debate skills are not up to ronald reagan standards.
The great masses LOVED McCain so much they chose him for our presidential candidate.
That worked out well.
She’s a good looking, conservative woman, therefore she must be evil, or stupid, or both - Squared.
Which is why we have such spineless wusses in Congress...we ELECT them.
WE elect and nominate only the men and women WITHOUT media baggage, ie, men and women who refuse to fight.
Conservative Women not liking Sarah Palin are just being catty.
Since grade school,females have always been catty toward the popular girl.
Come election time, they’ll huff and puff yet in secrecy, vote for Palin.
Good thing she won’t be debating President Reagan then. As someone who worked for both Presidents Carter and Reagan, I can tell you that she’s a lot closer to him than anyone else at that level currently. I’m sure she would tell you that she’s no Ronald Reagan, but we need to work with what we have. Who do you suggest instead of her?
Are you a lady, by any chance?
The Left and the establishment on the Right as well aren’t trying to prevent Palin from being President, they’re trying to prevent her from being a candidate. Once she is, the politics of personal destruction become much more difficult. Their challenge is to get damage done sufficient to the task before the effectiveness of the tactic wears off. With enough media participating it’s possible; in fact, it appears to be working, but it’s a race against time and she is hanging in there. Fascinating dynamic.
Ping for later
I totally agree with you. McCain was a lousy candidate and whatever excitement we had in 2008 was all due to her. Puttung SP on the ticket was the smartest thing McCain ever did in his whole life. BTW—I don’t think SP is going to run. Just a hunch.
Don’t let the enemy tell you who our candidate should be and who to vote for. Remember: It’s the leftist media who control 96.5% of those polls, and they want her to appear unpopular so we’ll go with Gomer McRomneylenty.
She’s a female and she’s not from their party. You really don’t expect them to say it’s because she’s female, or that she is a good candidate, do you? The same thing happens with both parties, neither is going to say much good about the opposition and they will both attempt to be PC about it.
They knew it the first time they saw her.
It's why they go insane ever time they think of her.
She is a goofball/showboat - I want a serious candidate like Chris Christie.... the boy plays hardball without drama.
If we continue to fall for this polarizing crap; we play right into the Lefts hands. We are involving ourselves in the problem; not solving the problem. So quit letting them dictate the rules to us.
This is how they win.
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