Posted on 07/06/2009 6:20:35 AM PDT by steve-b
Sarah Palin learned a lot of things in her time as John McCain's running mate -- about the savagery of the media; about the duplicity of politicos; about her own gifts as a politician.
But she did not learn the most important lesson of 2008: no drama.
The passing months show how right Barack Obama's critics, starting with Hillary Clinton, were about his inexperience. But his supreme overconfidence prevents the caution humility would suggest.
The waves are well over the bow of the ship of state now, yet Obama's White House seems to change course almost hourly.
What hasn't happened is much unnecessary drama. There were the income tax problems, and Clinton's team at State has started discreetly briefing against Obama's foreign policy, but he and his people have behaved remarkably well. No backbiting. Limited leaks. On message. Few surprises.
We can see problems ahead as the first lady tightens her grip on the administration. Sooner or later there will be a showdown as the president leaves it to his staff to deal with her while he bums another Marlboro Light on the front nine at Fort Belvoir.
But that's still ahead. For now, the harmony, unity and secrecy that were the watchwords of the Obama organization during the 2008 campaign mostly remain.
Team Obama understood the advantage it had with the members of the media with the first-ever serious black presidential contender, particularly a liberal who talks like a hip sociology professor.
But even with the wind blowing strongly at their backs, Obama and his men didn't indulge themselves in distracting sideshows.
The McCain campaign, meanwhile, was so dysfunctional that its members are still recriminating eight months later. Campaign manager Steve Schmidt and foreign policy adviser Randy Scheunemann are still braying at each other over Scheunemann's alleged leaks. As if it mattered anymore.
McCain didn't lose the election on Nov. 4. He lost it on Sept. 24, when he suspended his campaign, sort of.
With Wall Street imploding and then-Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson pushing the first $700 billion bailout, McCain said he would stop campaigning and go back to Washington.
But what McCain really did was do an interview with Katie Couric, stop by the Clinton Global Initiative for a speech, and then go along with what President George W. Bush and Obama were saying: A bailout was a necessary evil.
The final, clattering end of McCain's chance came two days later when he gave an unremarkable performance in a debate that he said should have been canceled. All Obama had to do was not act too smug and be plausibly presidential. Just by McCain showing up, the Democrat had won the debate.
Imagine if McCain had taken the same approach to the bailout as he had with the Iraq war.
McCain helped secure Iraq by being willing to lose an election if that meant winning a war. His steadfast backing of the surge in Iraq ended up benefiting his campaign, though. It won him the nomination and made Obama sweat his flippant dismissal of the strategy.
What if McCain had actually suspended his campaign and come back to Washington to fight against the bailout? What if Obama had debated an empty chair as McCain held the Senate floor arguing against the package? It would have been a dramatic move instead of just needless drama.
Palin, though, did not seem to take the lesson. Instead, she seems to feed on drama.
And it's not that she needs to go looking for it.
David Letterman's gross, unfunny joke about Palin's teenage daughter, the ongoing skirmish among the former McCainiacs and the frivolous ethics complaints against her by Democratic hacks are all just part of life for Palin these days. But rather than rising above the squalor, Palin has fully engaged on each point. She stayed in the headlines blasting washed-up Letterman for days, continued to dish about the failings of McCain's campaign and quit office blaming the ethics complaints for her departure.
There is always a lot of sound and fury around Palin, but does it signify anything other than her status as a celebrity?
As a deeply polarizing candidate, she has 18 months left to convince the shrinking pool of undecided voters that she can be a calm, steady hand in an unstable world.
More drama like the kind she indulged in Friday will take her down the same path McCain followed last fall.
So the media needs to stop their drama.
Interesting article and good points. However, I would say the biggest reason Bush’s numbers went down so low (and that McCain did so poorly) is that they didn’t engage in the “drama”, if you define “drama” as defending yourself against false charges in the media. Obama never had to engage in this defense because he had the media to defend him. I would like to say how Zero would react if treated the same as Sarah Palin. Somehow I don’t think he’d be so “cool and collected”.
You don't rise above the squalor by allowing these attacks to go unanswered. That is the current problem with the GOP. They don't understand how to play hardball like the Dems. For too long, the GOP has tried to be above the fray, but they are losing the battle in the streets. There is a reason why the Dems have been the overwhelmingly dominant political party since 1933. The GOP need's fight and passion, something Palin has in spades.
Palin's as cool as a cucumber.
If she weren't, the state-run media would not be so obsessed with her. She wouldn't even be in their rear-view mirror.
Instead, she's in their cross-hairs.
Because they are terrified of her.
YES Sarah needs to take advice from the LEFT WING MEDIA!!
thats what she needs alright!
No. He lost it when he was nominated. He never had a chance. It was only Palin that kept him from being humiliated on Nov. 4.
The author is a RINO Romney-bot:
Last August. Promoting Romney as VP. And/or Lieberman.
ROMNEY RINO!
Palin’s smarter than 0bama.
There is no doubt in my mind.
Obama did go after the conservative media during the campaign and currently. He attacks Limbaugh, Hannity, and Fox. The Dems pulled out of debate because it was going to be on Fox despite the fact that it was sponsored by the Black caucus. Obama has been in the face of his opponents from the very start. Talk radio is the next big target for the Dems.
Every conservative that is interviewed needs to casually refer to it as the “mainstream left wing state run (or statist) media”.
With all due respect sir, wake up and smell the roses.
Sarah is not going to play the old school game. She was not “one’ of the crowd last time, and she (IMHO) has no intention of trying to be this time.
Enough of the worrying about what Sarah hasn't got. Let's concentrate on what she brings to the table.
1. She is a fighter
2. She loves our COUNTRY
3. She loves GOD and her family
4. She fights corruption
5. She is a natural leader (if not then why are the dims scared out of their minds)
One last thing, next year we get to vote on the House. If Sarah unites a fire under the people, ms Pelosi will no longer have a majority in the house.
Also, many people are disgusted and ashamed at how Sarah was/is being treated. The more the left throw at her, the stronger she will become.
This is how it is. Sarah has center stage NOW and she hasn't even started.
One, she has an end to the frivilous, Dihmocrat led, endless ethics probes.
Two, Sarah has the opportunity and the freedom of movement to go out to support candidates for 2010 that think along the same lines as she does.
Three, it also provides the platform of real national support she will need in 2012 to win.
Four, it releases her from the critics saying she has 'abandoned' Alaska for political gain.
To the media, anything she does will be wrong, and she will be demonized for it, but now she can really say what she wants without having to watch her back from her own state.
Her lawyer has put the media on notice, bloggers, reporters, idiots, talking heads. "We're going after you if you start talking crap."
Not a bad idea, and one LONG overdue.
The media demands that Sarah Palin stop the drama that they themselves create.
I suppose the only way for her to make it stop is to disappear from the face of the earth and never show her face again.
These people disgust me. I think its time for us to start using their tactic against them. I hope those who travel in circles parallel to the media and beltway types will be willing to collect info and distribute it. If a mediatard or DC elitist screws around on their wife, document it and make it go viral.
Exactly. The l!bs are obviously scared witless of her, otherwise they wouldn't spend part of every day trying to destroy her.
I agree with the poster that reads SARAH 2012: FIRST THE RINOS THEN THE LIBS.
I really like Sarah and admire her spunk, but I would have to agree that she should rise above this media fray.
She needs to develop a message and go on every show she can and communicate her vision to the voters. She needs to own the substance of the debate as opposed to just echoing in the chamber if indeed she aspires to a higher office.
“Winners never quit and quitters never win.” — Vincent Thomas “Vince” Lombardi
The Media feeds on its own drama, like a trapped animal gnawing it's own leg off to get free.
And the poster (steve-b) is a serial Palin basher. That being said...
I really don't understand why no one seems to get it. She could not effectively run the state with so much controversy. She ended up spending most of the time she should have been governing fighting false accusations and it was costing the state for her to do so, so she is stepping down for the good of the state. She clearly stated that:
Political operatives descended on Alaska last August, digging for dirt. The ethics law I championed became their weapon of choice. Over the past nine months I've been accused of all sorts of frivolous ethics violations - such as holding a fish in a photograph, wearing a jacket with a logo on it, and answering reporters' questions.Why is that reasoning so hard to understand? In this selfish world, there still are a few rare people like Sarah who think about more than just their own political aspirations.Every one - all 15 of the ethics complaints have been dismissed. We've won! But it hasn't been cheap - the State has wasted THOUSANDS of hours of YOUR time and shelled out some two million of YOUR dollars to respond to "opposition research" - that's money NOT going to fund teachers or troopers - or safer roads. And this political absurdity, the "politics of personal destruction" ... Todd and I are looking at more than half a million dollars in legal bills in order to set the record straight. And what about the people who offer up these silly accusations? It doesn't cost them a dime so they're not going to stop draining public resources - spending other peoples' money in their game.
It's pretty insane - my staff and I spend most of our day dealing with THIS instead of progressing our state now. I know I promised no more "politics as usual," but THIS isn't what anyone had in mind for ALASKA.
More sophmoric analysis.
Hey, but you gotta put out the drivel for the ignorant masses.
I would agree with the author except for the fact that silence just emboldens the smear machine, as we saw with Pres. Bush. For most of the people, Sarah Palin is damned if she does, damned if she doesn’t.
If Obama had the repeated drama attacks Sarah has now he would have buckled. Obama discovered early on the power of the gay bloggers. And that is what most of them are. Militant gays who spend hours upon hours spewing their hatred, digging deep into Sarahs life and them demanding that it be put on the front page for the whole world to see. These digital brown shirts will stop at nothing to spew the rabid hatred they have of the right, especially child bearing women, whom they dub as “breeders” who populate the world with more breeding women. I think if they had their way, militant gays would eliminate women from society. On DU and Craigslist, most of the gays didn’t vote for Obama because of his policies, no. They proudly post they voted for Obama because they think he has a “big one”. This is the kind of mentality they have. These are the power bloggers behind the democrat party. People with no depth, no intelligence, and no plan other than their sex orgies
I am hoping this is some type of clever ploy by Sarah, but in my heart of hearts, I fear it’s the real deal. She is the prime example of why we don’t have quality people in office. She is a sincere woman who wants to serve her country, the country she believes in, and she has a family whom she also loves and wants to serve.
The attacks on her are sickening and beyond what any reasonable person could sanction. How much is too much for a person of her integrity and sincerity to take? When such vicious and ugly attacks such as David Letterman on her daughter go with a slap on the wrist, how does she stand that.
Are we worth it? Are we worth what this honorable and courageous woman has to endure? How could she even begin to be an effective governor or president.
I am ashamed of what this country has become and we need more Sarah Palin’s, but I’m sorry to say I don’t believe we are ever going to get them.
“So the media needs to stop their drama.”
The msm WAS the drama!
Rather than ending her term bloodied after political battles, she chose to end it a mere 2 1/2 years later, hoping to be remembered politically for the “best of times.” Realistically, this gives her an improved chance to win the nomination, though there will be some political costs incurred.
But rather than rising above the squalor, Palin has fully engaged on each point.”
This is quite true and not unexpected: she is still a woman, after all.
I think we conservatives need to remind ourselves of something else. Conservatism is not the same thing as populism. And while it is refreshing that Palin is the anti-politician and so normal, I’m not sure that true conservatives should be using that as one of her top qualifications to be President. Conservatives believe in merit. We should want someone more capable than our next door neighbor to be President. Palin would be a great next door neighbor. That is part of her appeal. But really, is that enough to be President? I’m not so sure.
And she is a drama queen. That is undeniable.
Sarah is scaring the hell out of the left leaning media because she doesn’t fit in the “box” the way they think things should be done. SCREW the media. Way to go Sarah...keep them on their toes. The media really doesn’t understand the American people anyway!
I wish she’d ignore them for a while. She certainly doesn’t need to twitter about it. Twitter is not necessarily the best way to get a coherent message out.
Meanwhile in the background I hear Bob Beckel squealing like a stuck pig over Palin’s threat to sue those who attack her with libelous stories and comments.
Seems to me that id Beckel really wanted her to stop the drama, he wouldn’t be on national TV screaming about it. He would be ignoring it.
“Sarah is scaring the hell out of the left leaning media”
She is also scaring the hell out of the GOP establishment. There are in on this too.
But they will bring about their own destruction. If Palin is destroyed, so be it for the GOP, and eventually so be it for this once great country.
Can’t win what ??
Is she running for something ?
this is probably the most stupid take on Palin I’ve seen yet.
the writer of this article does not have a clue.
Or maybe you could ignore her for a while.
I have been a supporter. But your right, maybe I should stop following her on twitter. Good idea.
I don’t care what you do or who you claim to support.
Wow! So now defending yourself and your family is considered being a drama queen? You must have loved it then, when Bush NEVER defended the WMD's in Iraq! He sure couldn't have been pegged a "Drama Queen"....
In case you haven't noticed, Palin fighting back is exactly what most of want our guys to do! It's what WE would do. Ah, but in your eyes, that is just being a "Drama Queen".
Agreed. One of the things people like about Sarah is that she doesn’t take the crap. She dishes it back.
I do hope her plans are to run for President in 2012. I think only a woman or another minority would allow the guilt-ridden U. S. electorate to de-elect the “first Black President”.
With all due respect, you and I with one hand tied behind our backs are smarter than nobama. We're smarter than nobama when we're sleeping and he's awake.
Such a statement would bring scoffs of disbelief from any leftist, if not downright hostility.
Of course, you could ask them for why any actual proof that he was intelligent, like, his transcripts, his SAT scores, or such, are such a closely guarded secret...
They’ll point at his “achievements” in Harvard Law, but we all know those were affirmative action “achievements” and nothing to do with honest merit.
So now defending yourself and your family is considered being a drama queen?”
When you are a former major party candidate for VP, and the election is long over, and the attack comes from David Letterman...yep, you bet. She should have ignored the dumbass.
And I don’t see her fighting back on issues. I see her fighting back about how she conducted herself in the campaign and all that. She is fighting back on personal things, as if she is a celebrity rather than a patriotic, conservative policy maker.
If she wants to lead a serious, well organized, and well thought out war against cap and trade, then I wish her well and will gladly enlist. But somehow, I doubt that is what she is up to.
The lawyer thing was especially stupid. They can’t actually sue (public-figure law raises the bar far higher than anything they can come up with), and making the threat and failing to follow up just makes people suspect that the rumors are true.
I'm not sure how you're defining "fighter". But, my definition doesn't include throwing in the towel because people are mean to your or are making your job difficult. Nope, that's no kind of fighter, no matter how you spin it. Quitter yes, fighter no.
Forget about Palin not being able to win. She has already won! She is standing for principle and God’s Truth. . the only things that matter. If It is God’s will, she will be a candidate and I assure you everyone in the little rural Tennessee church that I attend will vote for her! Libtards, Pundits, Beltway boys, and other reprobates that have attempted to drive the Creator out of our government and lives will never get it!
Dude, you’re in a hole.
Stop digging.
If you don’t defend your family, then I don’t want you speaking out for conservative causes.
Your family is your first cause.
There was no way Palin could ignore Letterman’s vicious, despicable joke. When someone jokes about raping your 14 year old daughter, then apologizes by saying he really meant raping your 18 year old daughter, you need to defend your daughters. Period.
If I was Todd, I would have done an unannounced walk-on on Letterman and socked him into next week.
The Palins were very restrained in their response.
Drama queen? You have no idea of what you are talking about.
Public figure law doesn't allow people to LIE with intent to defame. The only way that ends is attacking their pocketbook.
It's long overdue.
Of course Bush should have responded. He was commander in chief and this was an important issue...still is in fact.
But the attacks on her family have no importance beyond her family. That is, unless you buy into the whole celebrity culture.
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