PALIN: THE CITIZEN SERVES
Frank Capra made some great films. Mr. Smith Goes to Washington and It’s A Wonderful Life are two of my favorite films of all time.
As I watched an interview with Todd Palin, Sarah Palin’s husband, I couldn’t help but think of Jimmy Stewart’s portrayal of Mr. Smith. I felt a real sense of pride listening to this “average Joe” talk about his wife, their life and what all of this hullaballoo means to them. I was proud to be reminded that what really made this country great, the very foundation of America is the public service of average Joes and Janes like Todd and Sarah Palin.
Today we have become satisfied with the “ruling class in our politics. Those like Bill and Hillary, Barack Obama and others, even Republicans, who went to college with the idea of becoming politicians. Forget this noble notion of a life of public service. Mother Teresa had a life of public service and she never had to “call in a favor” or use the ends to justify the means.
National politics has become the realm of the professional politicians. There are a few exceptions, but for the most part all of our national politicians have one priority, staying in office…and that my friends is the curse on America today.
Nobody in Washington votes on conviction. They vote on expediency. They bring home the pork. They hand out the earmarks. They amend good bills with bad amendments. They conceal intent with doublespeak….but they have to because they’re trying to keep their job.
That’s why having a soccer mom, commercial fisherman, moose hunting regular kind of gal like Sarah Palin has taken America by storm. They see in her a kernel of what it was that made America great. That average citizen, putting real life on hold to serve in office, then going back to real life after they did their best to do what was right. You don’t always succeed but you try.
You get that sense from Sarah Palin. The sense that she could care less if she becomes Vice President, but if she does she’ll do her damndest to do a good job. Then go home, or maybe run for President one day.
People who have been in office a long time are neccesarily all bad. They just forgot what it was like to be me. The same goes for celebrities. They are so out of touch with average America, they just don’t get it.
Oh Lord. I’m turning into my father……
dooz Says: September 16th, 2008 at 4:40 am
The Frank Capra movie that comes to my mind in relation to this race is “Meet John Doe”, where a real “regular guy” is so refreshing that he becomes hugely popular–and is squelched by the big shot who controls the media. (Sound familiar?)
Our founding fathers envisioned a government run by “regular guys”, people like Davy Crockett, who served one term in the House. But even in his time, only a few decades after our Constitution was set down, Washington was already a place unto itself, full of career politicians, deal-cutters, mutual back-scratchers. Would that we could change that!
The Other Side Says: September 18th, 2008 at 7:35 pm
i guess this everyman definition that buck describes is why he likes bush. but look what voting with conviction has done to america. when someone votes with their gut they lose all objectivity. as a result we get subborn leaders that would rather see something fail then say they were wrong.
but palin and bush do have other things in common: cronyism (palin appointed her friends to roles in her administration), secrecy (the current “troopergate” scandal and using personal email for business), and stubborness (she won’t admit that she accepts earmarks and originally supported the bridge to nowhere)
i might rather have a beer with palin than biden, but i need someone with ideas and who brings change. but it is good to see the media skewering mccain and palin for their myriad of lies. their numbers are already falling in the polls after their convention bump.
The Other Side Says: September 25th, 2008 at 7:43 pm
why won’t palin answer any questions? why does the mccain campaign try so hard to insulate palin from the media? why did she go to the u.n. and not have any audio of her meetings, only pictures? why is the mccain campaign trying to delay the vice-presidential debate?
if palin is so qualified to serve, as many conservatives on this site seem to believe, why can’t she talk about her views and ideas to the media? oh yeah, its because the media is so liberal and would attack her (sarcasm).
this lack of media access to palin is getting to a point where it seems like the mccain campaign is scared of her speaking on her own. nothing about the mccain campaign surprises me anymore. palin was picked purely to help sure up the base. she will do nothing to help america if elected. i guess mccain would rather win an election than help lead america.
Tyra Says: September 26th, 2008 at 12:06 pm
It’s weird…I see Palin having MANY interviews…what t.v. stations are you watching? She just recently finished an interview with Katie…isn’t she on your station? Hannity just did a 2 day interview with her; Gibson recently interviewed her too. Palin has gotten far more attention and press than Biden, and frankly, far more scrutiny and vile assaults than Biden as well. I suppose it depends on what world you are living in b/c in my world, the media has a camera on her 24/7.
Again, hypocrisy at it’s best.
The Other Side Says: September 29th, 2008 at 11:01 pm
she doesn’t have press confrences. her speeches are scripted. the interview with hannity was a joke (name one hard question he asked). the couric interview was embarassing for palin (why is living near russia a foreign policy credential). she has given three interviews, thats your definition of a lot? when she is allowed to speak on her own, she disagrees with mccain (attacking al-qeada if pakistan won’t). the camera may be on her, but with no sounds it pointless.
this focus on a little known, inexperienced politician and lack of focus of the aforementioned politician’s experienced counterpart sounds familiar. hmmmm, I know, its like what happened to obama. where was tyra when obama was being overplayed and mccain’s gaffes were ignored. was tyra complaining that obama is getting more coverage, its the liberal media’s fault? this is hypocrisy, when obama was unfairly covered conservatives don’t care. but perish the thought of publically vetting an unknown politician. thats sexism or a result of that darn liberal media.
Tyra Says: September 30th, 2008 at 2:30 pm
It depends upon what side of the fence you are on. I never have thought Obama was unfairly covered by the liberal media. Your statement was that Palin wasn’t answering any questions, but when I pointed out that she was, you refer to it as a joke. So it just goes to prove that perception is reality. My reality is that Obama is the joke.
The Other Side Says: October 3rd, 2008 at 12:55 am
the flag lapel pin, the madrassa, bill ayers, reverand wright (blow too out of proportion), attacking michelle obama. there are more, but those were on the top of my head. both palin and obama were intensly covered because they were/are new. the media latches on to that and forgets about the other, more experienced candidate. in both cases palin and obama were unfairly scrutinized, but to only see one side without acknowledging the other is unfair.
she couldn’t name a supreme court decision besides roe v. wade. she could name a source where she gets her news, and she’s a journalism major. she didn’t know what the bush doctrin was. she couldn’t explain why living near russia was a foreign policy credential, because it isn’t. she couldn’t name a mccain accomplishment for reform. (is that enough?) instead of giving substantive answers, she dipped and ducked the questions. she looks uninformed. she may be charming but she’s not smart enough to run for vice-president.
obama held his own in a debate against mccain, who has deep foreign policy credentials. obama showed that he has the knowledge to lead the country. mccain should have dismantled obama with foreign policy but the fact that he didn’t proves a lot about obama. and they haven’t even talked about domestic issues, which democrats have an advantage with.
i actually feel bad for palin because mccain picked her for purely political reasons and she is being torn apart in the media.
Tyra Says: October 3rd, 2008 at 4:27 am
I’ve listened to Bill O’Reilly and others call the questions Couric and Gibson are asking “Gotcha Journalism”. Example: The “Bush Docterine”??? I’d never heard of it, but supposedly there are several parts to it and it’s not a “commonly” used phrase. Even some liberal journalist said that that was a trick question. Also, O’Reilly stated that the question about McCain’s regulatory record (I think that’s what he said) was, again, a stupid question that nobody could answer, but was just a way to try to make her look uninformed.
Here’s the bottom line: she’s not going to be an expert on EVERY issue. However, you don’t go from being a PTA mom to Governor of a State without something going on upstairs. I find her to be refreshingly NON-politician-like or anti-Capitol-Hill which is perhaps what we need. A career politican is just that…experienced at being a politican not at being a real person living in the real world. The REAL issue is that the leftest media and hollywood are peaved because she unapologetically doesn’t hold the same misplaced morals that they do.
I feel badly for her too. I’m sure she’s thinking what in the heck did I get myself and my family in to. The vileness of the media and hollywood entertainers are disgusting and I’m ashamed that they have such a “voice” in this country. But hey, she’s holding her own, and I’m proud of her for that.