a) Palin was a very well-read, self-educated person. She was not as ‘physically’ well-traveled as her parents, but the mere fact that they were avid travelers (and teachers) says something about the kind of innate curiosity she was raised with. Also, maybe you’ve been to Alaska — I also have. And I am aware of how actually international it is (I remember meeting with Koreans and eating at a Korean restaurant there in the late 90s) and diverse even in terms of having a sizable native population compared to the ‘lower 48.’
b) In her dealing with oil companies, she had constant exposure to international realities and she knew (and stood up to) the likes of former Secretary of State Rex Tillerson of ExoonMobil before any of us in the public knew who he even was. (He’s mentioned in her book ‘Going Rogue.’)
c) As stated elsewhere on the thread: Gov. Palin had to resign because she could not financially afford to fight off the frivolous lawsuits thrown her away (as Trump would have been able to do...with the best lawyers at that) and as governor in AK, did not have the same legal immunity as a sitting President does.
d) Not only did she not have legal immunity, but even pre-McCain, the AK State GOP was against her as she took their most powerful figure (Frank Murkowski, RINO Senator Lisa Murkowski’s father) out of office. Yes, she beat an entrenched *REPUBLICAN* for higher office, not Democrat. And without her own party backing her...
e) I realize that not everybody here followed her career prior to the veep nomination, but some of us did and plus there is literature by Alaskans and others out there who profiled the early rise of Palin — and Todd’s presence loomed large in the key decisions Sarah made and even in the dealings she had to maneuver through while in office. He’s no dummy. And people’s comments here are proof that the media rather than reality has shaped the perspectives of people even sympathetic to them. That’s the power of the media in setting the narrative.
f) Finally, upon leaving office Governor Palin was arguably the most instrumental figure in the Tea Party movement and setting the stage for MAGA — her endorsements catapulting then little known figures like Rand Paul and Nikki Haley into front-runner status, her ‘death panels’ comment (referring to govt. rationing) on Facebook forever rocking the national discourse surrounding Obamacare, and she fought tooth and nail for all our Congressional gains in 2010 — permanently impeding the very worst of Obama’s legislative aspirations.
WE owe her a THANKS.
Kudos for an excellent post!
I became politically aware in grad school during Reagan’s 2nd term. He was the 1st to get me enthused for our Constitutional Republic.
Sarah Palin was the 2nd.
Donald J Trump is the 3rd.
Again...GREAT post!
So you think she should have spent the decade after 2008 quitting partway through her only political term above mayor of Wasilla (and losing the support of her state in the process) and appearing on multiple reality TV shows rather than burnishing her policy credentials as I suggested?
GREAT post and one that others, here, should 1) learn from 2) take to heart!