Whenever a presidential campaign loses decisively, it must be very tough for the aides who are wondering if they'll ever get a job again. So I can well understand the worries that the McCain aides have and their desire to lash out and blame someone else for the mistakes that they and John McCain made. But it is so totally stupid on many levels for them to be leaking stories about Sarah Palin. They started it in th elast weeks of the campaign. They are embarrassing not only Palin, but McCain. If they're hoping that, by casting blame for the loss on Palin, that they'll clear their own records and ensure future jobs in politics, they are as dumb as can be.
What political candidate wants to hire campaign aides who have proven that they will be disloyal and embarrass the candidate with their leaks to the press? That is the kiss of death to any candidate who always wonders if their aides are loyal and worry about having secrets leaked to the press. They're making McCain look bad for being the one to have picked her in the first place and then for being out of touch with what was happening in his own campaign.
I for one don't believe that she didn't know that Africa was a continent and think it was much more likely, as her aides are saying, that she misspoke one time and the Palin-haters in the campaign took that as gospel just as the Obama-haters jumped over his misspeaking in talking about 57 states. Mary Katharine Ham is quite convincing in her argument that the governor of Alaska would know about NAFTA through both her husband's own fishing business and her state's massive trade with Canada. Neither of these insults seem anything more than people who didn't like her in the first place latching onto anything to trash her.
Ed Morrissey picks up the clues to name which aides are the ones who are leaking - Steve Schmidt, Rick Davis, and Nicolle Wallace. They're going to have a hard enough time finding new jobs with McCain's defeat on their resumes. Now that everyone suspects that they're the ones dishing the dirt on Palin, their job prospects are pretty sparse. Perhaps that is as it should be.
As for Palin's future, if she wants to have a try again at national politics in either 2012 or 2016, I have a few recommendations for what she should do. She should subscribe to some conservative magazines and the Wall Street Journal and read them regularly so that she add more depth to her understanding of conservative ideas and policies. And she can continue to call into conservative talk radio. That will keep her name out there among conservatives, but she needs to do more. She'll have to prove that she can do more than talk to those who already agree with her. She could start writing columns on issues rather as Fred Thompson has been doing. That would keep her name out there in connection with conservative ideas and demonstrate a deeper understanding on a wider variety of issues than she demonstrated during the campaign. In fact, I'd recommend that she get to know Fred Thompson better and find a way to couple her energy with his ability to understand and explain conservative positions. A lot of conservatives were hoping that Fred Thompson would be the candidate who could explain conservativism to the American people, but he just didn't seem to have the energy to engage in the politics necessary for winning elections. She has the energy; now she needs that gravitas.
Occasionally she can crop up at political meetings and campaigns in 2010. She needs to demonstrate that she is more than an image and an inspiring speaker on the campaign trail. The next time that energy is big in the headlines, she should try to get on the Sunday talk shows to talk about her ideas. That would help to get her toe in as a conservative voice. She demonstrated that she has great political talents; now she has to prove that she has a depth of understanding on current issues beyond what an Alaskan governor deals with on a daily basis. She'll have a higher bar to jump over than other potential GOP candidates, but she'll also have a louder megaphone. She needs to wield it wisely.
And for God's sake, don't run for the senatorial seat that will open up with Ted Stevens' hoped-for early exit from the Senate. She doesn't need to be part of the inside-the-beltway crowd. But she does need to prove that she's more than a person who can rally the base. If she does run in 2012, she'll have to appear in a series of debates and be able to do the townhall meetings where she'll get lots of questions out of the blue. If that's her ambition, she needs to start preparing now to show that she can handle that.
I don't know if she truly wants to try again for national office. She may be happier to stay in Alaska with her family and enjoy the life that she had before August 2008. But she seems to be a woman of great ambition to go from being a PTA mom to governor in such a short time. There is nothing wrong with ambition. Obviously, Barack Obama has a driving ambition to go from being a state senator to president in four years. Abraham Lincoln's partner, William Herndon, said that his ambition was "a little engine that knew no rest." A person needs that sort of ambition in he or she wants to achieve high office and there's nothing wrong with that.
She's demonstrated that she can whip up the base and give great campaign speeches. Now she needs to work on the perception that that is all she has going for her.
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20 comments:
She should also raise MILLIONS of dollars for R's (conservative ones) running in 2010 so she can (a) get allies and (b) build a network to raise the $2B she will need to take on The Oneness.
-XC
Continents are what second or third grade? Who knows, today it may be Kindergarten material ... let's all take out our globes.
As the mother of five, Sarah must have helped the older ones with their HOMEWORK before she was busy being governor or mayor.
This is such total crap.
Hey Betsy, this is a great essay with supremely cogent advice.
At the very least I hope you send this along to Governor Palin via snail mail. Hopefully someone she trusts will read it and send it to her. Who knows maybe she'll read it on your site before anyone sends it to her.
Aside from all that the Governor would be well served to follow your advice; I hope she does.
Gov Palin needs to do two other things to have any chance of success in the major leagues.
1. Establish a great track record of responsible government in Alaska. She needs to have some serious achievements that will offset her lobbying for earmarks and other free handouts.
2. Choose a mainstream church. Any church franchise. Just not one where she can be filmed accepting the blessing of a witch doctor.
Going to law school wouldn't hurt either. She needs help understanding the institutions and practices of American government. However, her academic record is so poor, this may not be an option.
Maybe she can become join a Church of Christ congregation such as Trinity UCC in Chicago. That sounds pretty mainstream as it didn't seem to hurt the President Elect. Why bother with a track record at all as it doesn't seem to matter what she has accomplished but the potential for action.
"Just not one where she can be filmed accepting the blessing of a witch doctor"
Please. The priest was a mainline denomination priest visiting from Africa.
"they are as dumb as can be"
Isn't that why McCain lost? McCain deserves to lose, just imagine this bunch setting the next president's policies!
Bill: need to pick up a dictionary and check up the word "condescend".
"lobbying for earmarks and free handouts" Alaskans pay taxes too, in case you don't know. Most of their natural resources wealth is locked up by the Federal govt. If they are free to develop their own resources, they'll be rich enough to fund their own projects, no lobbying needed. Another lesson for you Bill: politicians raise taxes to concentrate wealth and power in their hands. If they had not confiscated our wealth, we can fund our own projects, take care of our own people.
Another lesson Bill: lawschools are good to churn out slimy weasels, like Biden, who could spill out "facts" so readily to support his arguments. Unbeknownst to fools like you, Bill, his "facts" were made up by him on the spot. Lawschools are good in training people like that. Yes, may be Palin should go to lawschool. Bill: have you seen Palin's records? How about Biden's who graduated in the top half of his class, specifically 75th of a class of 85. And Obama's records?
"Choose a mainstream church."
(sigh) So apparently only *Republicans* are required to join mainstream churches. Democrats can spend decades at foaming-at-the-mouth, hate-filled, race-baiting churches and still get elected.
Thanks for clearing that up, Bill.
Wouldn't it be nice if right-wingers acknowledged Palin's unsuitability for public office, rather than give her pointers on how to cover up her ignorance, self-absorption and lack of interest in the commonweal?
Can you give an example whee Gov. Palin acted against the common good in Alaska rather than simply repeating tired old unsubstantiated stereotypes?
Wall Street Journal? Average. Investor's Business Daily is a much better forecaster of economic winds as well as a supporter of conservative values.
Sarah Palin is the strongest candidate in the new GOP. She represents a shift from the classic and simply archaic ways of the old Republican party. Palin will endure these criticisms and come out a stronger politician because of it. She will face the illuminati controllers of Washington and she will come out victorious. These attacks are out of fear of Palin's potential. The liberal left want to destroy her before she can become a threat, because they know she will.
Wouldn't it be nice if right-wingers acknowledged Palin's unsuitability for public office, rather than give her pointers on how to cover up her ignorance, self-absorption and lack of interest in the commonweal?
Wouldn't it be nice if left wingers and their MSM lackeys stopped making up ridiculous stuff and reporting it as fact?
Regarding Palin's witch-doctor:
"Please. The priest was a mainline denomination priest visiting from Africa."
Oh, please! The "priest" is Pastor Thomas Muthee, an insane religious zealot from Kenya who claims to hunt witches.
I guess churches Africa are a little looser, ecumenically speaking than the American mainstream. We don't have too many religions that accept the existence of witches.
Imagine the furor if Obama had accepted a blessing from this zealot, the way Palin did.
Palin's had her 15 minutes of fame. She is too toxic to put on the national stage again.
Wouldn't it be nice if left wingers and their MSM lackeys stopped making up ridiculous stuff and reporting it as fact?
It would be nice, loco. Unfortunately, their entire power base and their policies are built upon this sort of thing.
Actually most of the missionary churches in America, the Baptists and Methodists in particular, have had to compartmentalize some of their evangelical beliefs when attempting outreach to native Americans, Caribbean and African immigrants to address beliefs in witches that in not condemning all manifestation of witches as many of the native American beliefs include good witches.
1st Samuel 28 tells the story about the Witch of Endor and her ability to speak to the dead and see the future. And just recently the presidents of Ghana and South Africa spoke of various diseases that are transmitted by witches and it is only the witches that have the cures. Much of the evangelical backlash in Africa against witches stem from the belief that HIV/AIDS are not really diseases and do not require treatment. Except of course by the witches themselves.
Most mainstream churches throughout the world, so beloved by the Left until they actually act on some of their beliefs, have teams specifically set up to perform exorcisms of those possessed by demons, spirits or witches. These include the Anglicans, the Roman Catholics, the Buddhists(which I didn't know), many of the Protestant churches and sects and even the Scientologists. It seems that Bill perhaps should get his religious information not from William Peter Blatty but maybe from St. Peter instead.
Hmm, sure Pat, whatever.
The witch doctor that blessed Palin then went on to condemn Jewish bankers. See http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=esSAVnn2ye0&feature=related
Not sure you want to ally yourself with that kind of garbage, but suit yourself.
Ah, the "whatever" response. So beloved of unprepared 15 year olds when questioned on why they didn't bother to read the text the night before the midterm.
OMG, OMG Rev. Muthee accused the "Israelites" in Israel of running the country with integrity. And prayed that Christians would have the same kind of integrity. I can only guess that the Reverend must have been reading old back copies of Der Sturmer, but then missed all the anti-Semitic parts, and complimented the Jews as people with integrity. I mean how dare he hold up one group as having integrity and praying for another group to emulate them?
Does this mean I completely misunderstood what Rev. Jackson meant when he referred to Hymietown? Using Bill B's unique reading he must have meant it as a compliment.
"Imagine the furor if Obama had accepted a blessing from this zealot, the way Palin did."
Obama would have been praised by the left for being so openminded and respecting African culture and the African pastor visiting his church.
It certainly does not seem to matter that Obama belonged 20 years to a church whose pastor preached racial hate.
John needs to stick up for her, and tell his aides to back off. She endured a great amount of negativity from the media and the left-wing illuminati. When is it going to be enough?
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