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Leadership: What We All Can Learn From Palin - Love her or hate her-you'd be foolish to ignore her
Forbes ^ | May 10, 2010 | Shaun Rein

Posted on 06/28/2010 7:12:03 PM PDT by 2ndDivisionVet

When Sarah Palin first entered the national consciousness, she seemed more like a candidate for the Jerry Springer Show than for vice president. Her interview with Katie Couric showed she was woefully unprepared to be John McCain's running mate. And when her grandson's father appeared in Playgirl magazine, Palin seemed destined to go down in history as a cocktail party joke.

Yet almost two years later, she has bucked the naysayers and is more beloved than before. Yet despite landing a TV show on Fox, a deal with Discovery Channel, and a bestselling book, too many political elites still underestimate Palin's presence and ability to connect with a large number of Americans.

True, Sarah Palin will never develop a great foreign policy like George Kennan, and she will never win over the liberal elite like Tom Friedman. And like most of the rest of the world outside of America, I hope she stays in the entertainment business and leaves politics altogether.

But that is not the point. Palin has the ability to connect with a growing portion of Americans in a way other politicians like Mitt Romney will never be able. This makes her powerful, no matter whether she runs for office again or not.

It would be foolish for both Republicans and Democrats to continue to disparage and underestimate Palin, and ignore the anguish that has given rise to the Tea Party movement and the phenomena that is Glenn Beck and Fox News. The more the self-defined elites belittle Palin, the more they empower and bring together disenfranchised, scared and angry Americans. And with the_unemployment and ballooning debt situation not looking to improve anytime_soon, there are a lot of those. Why does Palin appeal to so many Americans?

Even now, I can't discern any real policy Palin stands for.

(Excerpt) Read more at forbes.com ...


TOPICS: Constitution/Conservatism; Culture/Society; Front Page News; Politics/Elections
KEYWORDS: 2012; business; economy; elections; government; leadership; obama; palin; politics; sarahpalin
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To: Ev Reeman

Ev,

Ironically, you left out the most important point..

Sarah is everyman, er, everywoman. She’s not a Hahhvahhd grad, she didn’t leave college and become a politician. She and her husband have done real jobs, raised kids without (illegal alien) child care / governesses.

We desperately need to flush the professionals, the arrogant elites from our system and install more of US in our leadership.


41 posted on 06/28/2010 8:21:31 PM PDT by sgtyork (The secret of happiness is freedom, and the secret of freedom, courage. Thucydides)
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To: tommix2
They have to write something even if they have nothing to say.


LOL! You nailed it on that one!
42 posted on 06/28/2010 8:23:26 PM PDT by presently no screen name ( Repeal ZeroCare!)
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To: sgtyork
We desperately need to flush the professionals, the arrogant elites

That reminded me of something Sarah said back in '08 - that she is a servant. Another reason the elites hate her - she's brings them down to size. After all, that's what they are. That 'smartass' Biden needs to be reminded who pays his salary.
43 posted on 06/28/2010 8:32:30 PM PDT by presently no screen name ( Repeal ZeroCare!)
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To: wendy1946

And that would not have been a wonderful thing! No more RINOS!


44 posted on 06/28/2010 8:33:09 PM PDT by basil (It's time to rid the country of "Gun Free Zones" aka "Killing Fields")
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To: NurdlyPeon

I think I’ll double down on the dittos!


45 posted on 06/28/2010 8:37:16 PM PDT by Mr. Thorne ("But iron, cold iron, shall be master of them all..." Kipling)
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To: raygunfan
My thoughts on Sarah -- the people of Alaska must have believed she really cared about them when they elected her governor. Many contributed money to her campaign, only to have her abandon the job after she got a real taste of life in the fast lane.

The state of Alaska is hurting in many ways -- with her new-found connections and world-wide exposure she could have accomplished so much for the people of her state -- instead, she runs around the country, criticizing, ranting and raving against anyone in power, and appealing to an adolescent mentality.

46 posted on 06/28/2010 9:21:10 PM PDT by TiaS
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To: wendy1946

Romney would have to run with the Lord himself. The guy is the worst kind of “political weasel”.

I mute the t.v for Mitt, Clinton and Obama. Scum sucking con-men.


47 posted on 06/28/2010 9:55:18 PM PDT by liberty or death
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To: 2ndDivisionVet

I read the entire piece, and it really is a hit piece on Palin’s supporters more than her. She is “brilliant” for capitalizing on “fear of the future” and “longing for the past” that her supporters have. This guy obviously thinks that only rednecks follow Palin, that no one with any intellectual substance could follow her.

Look, while I have my doubts about her ability to win, I like what Sarah stands for and believes in. She reminds me of several conservative women I know - strong, independent, smart, witty and sexy all at the same time. Does that make me a fearful, past loving neanderthal like this guy seems to think?


48 posted on 06/28/2010 10:03:34 PM PDT by wastedpotential (McCain always said I was an agent of intolerance - but in 2008 those like me tolerated him most)
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To: TiaS

Tia, honestly. How can you read through this thread and make that sort of comment about Sarah Palin?

I see that you replied to post # 2, so maybe you didn’t read all of the very insightful comments that followed.

Sarah Palin is a true American. People respond to her the way they do, not because she sells herself well, but because she’s genuine. She loves this country, and wants to see it restored to its former greatness.

I believe that it’s her life’s calling to help steer this country back onto the path that was laid by the Founders. Millions upon millions of Americans clearly see in her the sort of greatness that is only rarely seen in the political arena. Perhaps once in a generation, a figure of such stature rises among us and goes on to do extraordinary things. Sarah Palin is just such a person.

The day is coming when she will announce her intention to run for the presidency. When she does, millions of patriotic Americans will answer that announcement with an avalanche of support.


49 posted on 06/28/2010 10:30:20 PM PDT by Windflier (To anger a conservative, tell him a lie. To anger a liberal, tell him the truth.)
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To: tet68
“True, Sarah Palin will never develop a great foreign policy like George Kennan,...”

When did we have a President Kennan??? Amazing how this turnip can write an article not to underestimate Palin when he is doing exactly that.

50 posted on 06/28/2010 10:49:22 PM PDT by Valpal1 ("All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing.")
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To: presently no screen name
"We know our own."

That's it in a nutshell and bears repeating!

51 posted on 06/28/2010 11:24:17 PM PDT by ntnychik
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To: 2ndDivisionVet
It would be foolish for both Republicans and Democrats to continue to disparage and underestimate Palin...

Like this guy does in the first several sentences of his own article.

52 posted on 06/28/2010 11:38:20 PM PDT by DTogo (High time to bring back the Sons of Liberty !!)
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To: 2ndDivisionVet

Little Shaun sounds, well, like a KID.


53 posted on 06/29/2010 3:34:44 AM PDT by Ann Archy (Abortion...the Human Scarifice to the god of Convenience.)
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To: pray4liberty
...does the name Patrick Henry ring a bell?

Henry was a brilliant intellectual. Palin can't get beyond quips and fuzzy platitudes. She is warm, smiles a lot, and has her head screwed on reasonably correctly. I just wish she'd take all that drive and ability and focus on learning some history and economics. She would be far more effective.

54 posted on 06/29/2010 4:54:40 AM PDT by Carry_Okie (Grovelnator Schwarzenkaiser, fashionable fascism one charade at a time.)
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To: WesternOne
This so-called author is completely out of touch with the political realities of the day. Basically, this guy needs to get out in the real world and work and listen to the people—rather than assuming he knows all the answers.

Punk kid writing with a ChiCom angle. Oh yeah, he's a qualified hack...

-Shaun Rein is the founder and managing director of the China Market Research Group, a strategic market intelligence firm. He writes for Forbes on leadership, marketing and China.-

55 posted on 06/29/2010 7:17:20 AM PDT by GalaxieFiveHundred
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To: upsdriver

“elitists”

It’s too bad that many Freepers can describe the career politicians better than our supposed conservative leaders in government (Ms. Palin excepted of course).

Career politicians=LOSERS


56 posted on 06/29/2010 8:55:21 AM PDT by secondamendmentkid
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To: TiaS

I think it’s important for other posters to realize that you are a troll. Here is a quote you made on March 31, 2009

“I am sort of a liberal but I’ve got to hand it to Sarah. She came out of nowhere, hit the world stage and she DID IT! How many women could do that?”


57 posted on 06/29/2010 10:02:19 AM PDT by conservativebuckeye
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To: conservativebuckeye
FYI: I stand by what I said at that time. By the way, I was in Alaska, July 3rd/4th, 2009, when she resigned.

What is a troll?

58 posted on 06/29/2010 10:33:16 PM PDT by TiaS
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