Sarah Palin, Unbound
Laurie Morrow • July 6, 2009 • Uncategorized
SARAH PALIN, UNBOUND
by
Laurie Morrow and Ed Morrow
Striving mightily to stay at the head of the torch- and pitchfork-bearing mob pursuing the Monster Palin, Maureen Dowd, in her latest column, has added a new charge to the standard assaults on the Alaska Governor. On top of being too folksy, too pretty, too dull-witted, and too conservative, Palin is crazy. Miss Dowd knows this is true because she read it in Vanity Fair. Using a fashion magazine notorious for its anti-Republican bent as her medical authority, Dowd cattily describes Palin as “one nutty puppy.” She diagnoses the Governor as a pathological narcissist lacking in empathy and driven by delusions of grandeur with a hunger for admiration. Apparently, there was no mirror in the room as Dowd wrote this.
Dowd appears to have a problem with strong women. When, while seeking the Presidency, Hillary Clinton’s eyes welled a little misty during an interview in Portsmouth, N.H., Dowd made a similar attack on her. Hillary was being tossed aside by the party to which she had devoted considerable portions of her life in favor of a more promising newcomer and had good reason for a moment of sadness, but Dowd, who did everything in her power to help dispatch the former First Lady to the ash heap of history, accused her of “breaking down,” having “crack[ed] with exhaustion,” and with being “weirdly narcissistic.”
While presenting herself as a modern feminist, Dowd just doesn’t seem to get it. For her, feminism is a device for advancing her career that can be tossed aside when she wants to attack some other career woman she doesn’t like. Unfortunately, Dowd’s subjective feminism is common in the mainstream media, who attribute Palin’s resignation to an array of antifeminist stereotypes: Palin resigned because she is fragile and cowardly, incapable of taking criticism like a man; because she lets personal matters intrude on her public responsibilities; and because, as Dowd would have it, she’s an emotional, “incoherent,” “breathless,” hysterical woman.
Were members of the media to look more dispassionately at Palin, they might conclude that her resignation is a coolly calculated political strategy.
It seems unlikely that Palin resigned in response to the outrageous treatment she and her family have received, although her doing so would be understandable, given the bizarre viciousness of the attacks against her, her teenaged daughters, and even her handicapped baby. Sparing no effort to smear Palin and her family, the media industriously reports every rumor it can unearth, and when these accusations turn out to be baseless, only search harder for different dirt. They then castigate Palin as not tough enough for politics.
Perhaps we should be asking: how tough should Palin have to be? Should a politician be expected to blandly accept attacks on her character, intelligence and integrity? Should she just smile patiently when her husband and children are insulted? Should she accept, as part of the job, that her family will have to spend hundreds of thousands of dollars defending her against one groundless, politically motivated charge after another? Are only those willing to consider the Governorship a kind of suicide pact for themselves and their families tough enough for the job?
While removing herself from office will not stop these baseless attacks, Palin’s resignation will at least make them less easy for the press to justify and their political motivation more apparent. Polling indicates that the public, though mixed in its assessment of Palin, believes she has been unfairly treated by the media. More of the same media treatment will reinforce this belief.
As Governor, Palin has been criticized for having national ambitions that would take her out of Alaska too often and that would distract her from her dutes. This issue will no longer be available to her critics once she’s no longer Governor. Freed from the constraints of public office, Palin will be able to travel as she wishes, promoting her forthcoming book and assisting fellow Republican candidates with fundraising, at which she has proven unusually effective.
Palin’s book is apt to be a real page-turner. As a former professional journalist, she knows how to craft a story. Her private journals will provide the kind of details that lend accuracy, immediacy and life to a text. As a private citizen, she will be able to speak more freely about her experiences than she could as Governor. She’s got a good story to tell, about a working-class woman who rose to high office through diligent effort and who has something to say to fellow working-class Americans, an audience considerably larger than Dowd enjoys.
A good book and a successful effort helping fellow Republicans will increase Palin’s appeal. If the mid-term elections increase Republican power, Palin will be given much of the credit for it, as Newt Gingrich was credited with Republicans gaining control of the House in the 1980s. She will emerge as the Party leader Republicans are seeking.
Come 2012, Palin’s critics may well wish she had remained bottled up as Governor of Alaska.
Laurie Morrow, Ph.D., a former English professor and talk radio show host, is president of Morrow Public Relations. Ed Morrow is an author and illustrator. They reside in Montpelier, Vermont.
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5 Responses to “Sarah Palin, Unbound”
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Our politics went south with the decision in NY v. Sullivan that created the artificial standard for successful suits against the media of proven malice. However, out of office, Palin might be able to meet that standard. I understand representives of the mainstream media have been notified by her attorneys that suits will be filed against them if they do not cease and desist.
This may sound simplistic and a bit corny, but I believe Maureen Dowd, and many others, are jealous of Sarah Palin.
There are going to be a few surprised pple when Sarah, is let loose. She is going to raise a lot of money, and she is going to have millions of conservatives who will follow her. The media and all the pundits say she is a coward, crazy, and her career is over, I can hardly wait until the 26th. Sarah is one of a kind and she is going to prove quite a few pple wrong.
GOD BLESS AMERICA, SARAH PALIN AND HER FAMILY!!! The conservative pple who believe in smaller government, less taxes, and the ability to drill for our own oil, and not support terrorist countries, are going to come out of the woodwork.
YOU GO GIRL!!! WE HAVE BEEN WAITING A LONG TIME!!!!
eventhough there are lots of criticisms against Sarah Palin, i still admire her. she also did a lot of things in the area of politics specially in Alaska.
The fact remains that those who seek public life open themselves up to criticism, and Mo Dowd is an equal opportunity offender. Furthermore, most of Dowd’s comments are tic, and devoid of real significance. After all, the real objective of any business, including the media, is to pay the bills. Dowd helps to fill that bill with a large following both in print and on-line. Don’t take her too seriouslhy – I don’t.
However, much of the criticism of Sarah Pallin is accurate: her decision to bail with a year and a half left in her term citing lame duckship is, imo, absurd. Real leaders lead ongoing criticism and investigation not withstanding. She made a commitment to the people of Alaska and failed to follow through. Furthermore, her comments about death panels in the proposed health plan is just plain wacky. If Republicans are bent on taking back the white house they need to look for substannce over whatever it is that people see in her.