Sarah Cannon's character was country, but she was good, wholesome and upright. I don't think Minnie would have ever darkened the door of a county line bar, let alone get drunk OR tattooed.
There are an awful lot of decent country people out there. They've become a little too sophisticated to wear two-dollar hats, but they are basically the same as they always were.
Sarah has to learn to speak to a larger electorate to show competance and disprove all of her naysayers a la Ronaldus Magnus. Reagan had a very hostile media too, but he was able to project competance, charm, and strength that went way over the heads of the Dan Rathers of the world and straight to the mass of Americans, whether in New Jersey, Alabama, or California.