Division in the Party
Sometimes I feel I should just sit back and watch the election with a bag of popcorn in hand. It’s just that entertaining, and sometimes, that predictable (if it weren’t really a national election). Just recently in class, we discussed the possibility that Palin’s brightest future was not on McCain’s ticket but still in Washington. The New York Post has reported on her turning on her running mate, ignoring her aids at times, and altogether “bucking her own ticket.” Some examples of her “going rogue” include her support of a constitutional amendment regarding same-sex marriages, on which McCain disagrees, her desire to bring up the relationship of Rev. Wright and Obama, and her ignoring the aids at a Colorado event by giving an impromptu address the media.
Again, she has dominated the news this week with her $150,000 wardrobe provided by her party and her offbeat statement on Saturday that Obama’s tax plan is akin to communism. She is in the public more than any of the presidential candidates, but her actions are pulling apart the Republican party. She may not be the brightest bulb when appearing in front of a reporter for an interview, but she still is an intelligent woman. Could she be deciding to carve out her own path away from McCain’s to secure her future in politics?
The New York Post says that she may be distancing herself from the sinking ticket as to not be labeled a scapegoat. The media once again got the upper hand on her with the wardrobe story. She may have attempted to pull away from the media and have the relationship exist primarily between her and the voters. However, in reality, the process simply doesn’t work that way. The story came out, and the main issue is that Palin let it get to her: “Palin showed how much that gaffe got under her skin yesterday at a rally in Sioux City, Iowa, telling the crowd she’d stepped off the plane and donned a warm, cream-colored jacket. ‘And it’s my own jacket,’ she said.”
According to a recent CNN article, she is not only “going rogue,” but she is also looking out for her own future. An aid sourced for the article says that she is like a diva, who is more concerned for herself than the ticket. The aid theorized that she sees herself as the next party leader and is attempting to secure that future for herself.
Explore posts in the same categories: Uncategorized
Thinking Out Loud 
October 26, 2008 at 6:20 pm
As an intelligent career woman in my own right, I take exception to lumping Sarah Palin into the same category.
During what was arguably the most important event of her political career to date, the Vice-Presidential debate, when all eyes were on Ms Palin to show us her intelligence, what did we see? We saw a woman who struggled to construct a gramatically correct sentence and who apparently thought folksy hockey mom analogies and joking with Joe Biden were appropriate rather than give consideration to the seriousness of the questions posed. And of all her actions that I found offensive, the worst was winking at the camera. I cannot fathom sitting across from a table of world leaders, discussing Iran or Korea and turning to one of the men present to wink and smile at him because she has nothing to offer intellectually so she sinks to the basal level of her “feminine charms.” John McCain’s reasons for choosing Palin as his running mate may never be made public, but in picking her, he showed his lack of judgment. If having Palin as his running mate was not his idea, then he caved to the choice of idiots and we dont need somebody with so little backbone running the country. Do I think Obama will be a better president? I don’t know. But as far as first presidential-type decisions go, Obama gets an 8 of 10 for Biden. McCain gets a 0 for Palin.
There was a moment on the Thursday edition of SNL with Tina Fey and Will Ferrell that was meant to be funny, but strikes a little too close to what the McCain camp is saying. When Will was shaking hands with the actor playing McCain, he said something about the next 8 years, and Tina Fey held up her fingers and said “the next 16.” Joke or prophesy? Canada is looking better…….
October 26, 2008 at 8:12 pm
If Palin thinks she can make her own way in the Republican party at the expense of the McCain campaign she is mistaken. Party loyalty is huge for Republicans. They made her and they can destroy her. Her best bet would be to play it straight and be the happy cheerleader to the bitter end. This way, she can at least salvage a Fox contributor job after she loses the governorship up in God’s country.