It is a lovely day in Streeterville. The summertime cumulus are attempting to take hold and push the big rain clouds away. Even on a Monday a handful of boaters have taken up residence in Streeterville Bay. More to the point, the Lake Michigan water temperature has warmed sufficiently for large numbers of swimmers to return to their triathlon training. The roughly mile long training area from Ohio Street Beach to Oak Street Beach now has swimmers, some sporting wet suits, some in mere swimsuits, swimming their long laps, preparing for the most daunting leg of their triathlons. It is currently 82 degrees under partly cloudy skies at the lakefront, and last I checked, the water temperature had reached 66 degrees.
There has been much ado in the newspapers in the last few days regarding Sarah Palin's sudden resignation from the Governorship in Alaska, a year and a half before her term was up. There are those who would have you believe that she is resigning because she is devoting all her time ramping up for either A) a Senate seat from Alaska, and subsequently a run for the White House in 2016 or B) a serious run for the White House in 2012.
Frankly, I think Ms. Palin has not a snowball's chance in Hades of reaching the White House. The number of people in this country who can be identified as either the Christian Right or the Conservative Wing of the Republican Party representing family values, etc., etc., etc., those who would support her Presidency are not sufficient. Even among the more conservative elements in this country there are not enough people who really believe she has the intellect, the knowledge, the ability to lead this country effectively. I have to point out that it is the social conservatives who are most likely to denigrate a woman's ability to lead, simply because she is a woman.
Then there are those who believe that Sarah Palin resigned because of the "Can't Stand the Heat. Get Out of the Kitchen" syndrome. Ms. Palin's conspicuous stumping for conservative values, get the government off the backs of the people approcach to social, economic, and political problems have indeed brought a lot of heat to bear on her. Her social conservatism and Christian activism come off as hypocritical, in light of her own family problems. Her call for smaller government and honesty come off as hypocritical, in light of her abuse of state funds in Alaska, her spending of campaign funds on truly expensive designer labels during the Presidential campaign. Furthermore, her babbling incoherence and obvious lack of grasp of the facts of international affairs, and of the ins and outs of the national government make her appear as one who has not the ability to govern the wealthiest, most powerful nation in the world. It's a very large, complex job and not one for a self-styled populist who calls herself a "hockey Mom" and whose detractors refer to as "Caribou Barbie." The bottom line here is that Sarah Palin chose a life in the political arena. If she is resigning the Governorship of Alaska because she can't stand life under the microscope, she should have chosen another profession. The microscope may not be as obvious as Mayor of Wasilla or even as Governor of Alaska, but when you step onto the national stage it is there. People care who is governing the country.
In today's New York Times conservative columnist Ross Douthat suggested that Palin's woes were due to widespread discrimination due to her sex and social class. Mr. Douthat suggested that Barack Obama represents the idea of a meritocracy where anyone can grow up and go to Eastern elite schools and be successful and eventually become President. He further suggested that Ms. Palin represents the traditional democratic ideal whereby anyone can grow up to be a success without going to the elite schools. Mr. Douthat suggests that it is because Mr. Obama went to the right schools and Ms. Palin did not she is being discriminated against. He thinks it is a matter of class, oh, and of sex.
While I will agree with Mr. Douthat that there is a great deal of sex discrimination alive and well in America, I do not agree that it is one of the primary reasons that Sarah Palin is being roasted in the media. A great many women have risen above this and have moved onto the national stage despite this. I agree that there is discrimination nationwide based on class, I do not think this is the reason that Sarah Palin is being held up as a joke either. Mr. Obama came from humble beginnings, but made his way to Harvard Law School and excelled despite being black, and not a wealthy individual of the Eastern elite. Like Sarah Palin, I went to state-supported schools. I hold a B.A. from Arkansas State University and a M.A. from Northeastern Illinois University. Yet my grasp of international affairs and of basic governance are fairly solid compared to that of Sarah Palin.
What we are talking about here is basic competence and ability. Ms. Palin is not being held up as a national joke because she comes from humble background and holds degrees from lesser universities. Ms. Palin is being held up as a national joke because she is an A-One doofus. She is being held up as a national joke because she doesn't know the first thing about actual governance. She is being held up as a national joke because frankly, believing in "creationism" is not an intellectual trait most Americans are willing to have living in the White House. A great many of us come from humble beginnings and rise above them to never be thought of as "white trash" as Mr. Douthat suggests has been done to Sarah Palin. Sarah Palin has somehow managed to rise to the Governorship of a state with a small, conservative population. On the national stage that act does not fly. Thank god.
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