Saturday, February 12, 2011

Sarah Palin--A Better President Than Campaigner?

Whether we think they will run or not, many candidates appear to be perpetually in campaign mode. Many are taking steps, such as hiring staff, making speeches, writing op-eds and otherwise ramping up the machine to get in the race for the GOP nomination should they so decide when they feel the time is right.

Sarah is no exception. She benefits from her experience--the good, the bad, and the ugly--on the ticket with John McCain. She has developed an understanding of the power of publicity to create and destroy personalities. So why, then, with all this experience in the campaign world, including her success in Alaska, might she be better suited for the actual job of President than that of a campaigner?

The answer lies in her political stances. The world of campaigning is all about getting your message across--who you are, what you believe in, what you will do as President that will benefit voters and the country in general. Campaigning involves marketing, debating, interviews, shaking hands, stump speeches, and much more--all areas in which Sarah has definite strengths, but also perceived weaknesses. In a Palin Presidency, very little of this world will apply.

Sarah is conservative. Not only that, she has a solid set of political and governing principles that require dismantling a significant amount of what government does, even in a Republican world. Her thought process has a slight libertarian streak in that less is more when it comes to government. She would draw more from her approaches while governor in Alaska--where what she accomplished in a short amount of time was enough to convince many that she was right for the 2008 ticket--than from what currently occupies her time and the attention of the public.

Sarah the President would resemble Sarah the Governor, rather than Sarah the Campaigner and celebrity. Accomplishing her objectives wouldn't require intellectual banter among elites. It could well be enough to surround herself with expert advisers committed to the same simple principles of limited government and limited international engagement and let these principles dictate the answers to challenges her administration would face.

Other Presidents and candidates have complex solutions for the country's problems and thus require the intellect to be able to delve in, explain, and defend. Even then, they rarely succeed in convincing those who need convincing, let alone implementing. Yet, they continue in campaign mode. Only the beard-scratchers are satisfied in their never-ending analysis.

As President, Sarah would retire from campaigning. Her policies don't lend themselves to complex discussion--they are simple, hence the meme she is not knowledgeable. Eliminating programs and getting government out of our lives just isn't all that interesting of a topic in the mainstream media and for the people who watch.

A Palin Presidency would not be drama-free as detractors will continually look for evidence to support their views of her. Fortunately, Sarah would be too occupied with weightier matters to be concerned.

28 comments:

kelly said...

What you say may be true, but she has to get elected first. That, is impossible.

ConMan said...

She lacks character.

She quit in Alaska when the going got tough. Why would we want her in a more stressful position?

Right Wingnut said...

The comment above is a prime illustration of why I don't post as much anymore. At least the con had the guts to put his name on it.

Revolution 2012 said...

RWN,

I'm not saying I agree with ConMan. In fact I think she is of GOOD CHARACTER,

But doesn't he have a valid point about he Governorship? Instead of attacking the messenger, why not attack the message.

WHY IS CONMAN WRONG?

hamaca said...

I think there are cases to be made both in favor and against ConMan's assertion--obviously he's not alone.

It is very possible that it was becoming such a legal circus in Alaska that it could have been in the best interest of the state that she step down.

You don't get to be governor unless you are politically astute. She had to know there would be fallout upon her resignation, but decided to go ahead anyway despite the hit she knew she'd take.

Maybe it was a cop out. Maybe it was a sacrifice. It sure seems to have shut down the liberals who were there trying to make life miserable. And people and life have moved on just fine as she probably knew they would.

phil said...

Conman makes a valid point.

I believe it was the money. A VP candidate. Lots of money to be made on the speaker's circuit and books.

I'm not willing to take that chance. President of the U.S. is to important.

zappo said...

Sarah will make a great President. Half of what needs to be done, is common sense. Common Sense is what Sarah is all about!

Greg said...

Regarding Palin stepping down as governor, those who have questions about that should at least try to educate themselves as to her reasons. Palin was besieged with bogus "ethics" complaints. In AK the governor has to spend his or her own money defending him or herself. At the time she stepped down Palin had racked up about $600,000 in legal bills. The aim of these complaints, all of them dismissed by the way, was to bankrupt her and her family. Besides that, her administration had practically ground to a halt as it spent more time dealing with these bogus complaints. By stepping down, Palin saved the state of AK money, saved herself money, and got the government in AK running again.

If Palin had not stepped down, and spent the last 1.5 years of her administration battling bogus complaints, not getting anything accomplished, and cosing the state of AK money, she would have been accused of not having the best interests of the state at heart.

Raffy said...

From chapter five in "Going Rogue":

I was charged with accepting “bribes” of chocolates and a kids’ hockey stick when I gave a speech at a charity event in Indiana. I was charged with holding a fish in a photo for a state fishing pamphlet. I was served with a complaint filed under the name of a fake British soap opera character. I was charged with conducting an interview with a national media figure in my state office. I was charged with answering reporters’ questions in the lobby of my state office the day I returned to work and found a herd of reporters congregated near the doorway to my office. As I tried to make my way through, I stopped to answer questions-and got slapped with an ethics accusation.

gerald said...

A lot of folks drinking that liberal kool aid that Palin can't get elected.
They said the same thing about Reagan.Make no mistake they fear Palin.If she can't get elected why are they spending so much time trying to destroy her?
Get off the KOOL AID folks,you know how Liberals work,destroy the one they fear.
Amen.

Anonymous said...

The Governor of Alaska does not have liabilty or legal protections that the president has, or other governors have. For the good of the state's citizens she stepped aside, knowing that Parnell would take her place. A president has legal protections that would make it impossible to use the same tactics used against her.

Doug NYC GOP said...

Hamaca,

It's very good to see you posting.

This is a well written post and since it is devoid of the juvenille, tiresome, over zealous exhaultations about how perfect Sarah is, you challenge me think about her in a different light.

I would support Palin as nominee and have never doubted her conservative commitments or values. There is no reason to doubt a President Palin wouldn't make decisions from that foundation.

I see you have a second post up...heading there now to read it.

Right Wingnut said...

This article got posted twice over at Free Republic...

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2672927/posts

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-gop/2672929/posts

Anonymous said...

Nice post Hamaca, congratulations on the FPP position.

jerseyrepublican

Anonymous said...

Doug, with all due respect...

Doug NYC GOP said...

Yes ANON?

Something on your mind?

Anonymous said...

Who knows...maybe my tact was wrong...but I've been explaining Palin to you for about a year now and all I get is ridicule from you...finally an honest and fair Romney supporter writes an open-minded Palin piece and you were "challenged to think about her in a different light?"

It's those statements and your subsequent reply to me is why I wrote that you have your moments. In all honesty I think you're a fair person but might not have the courage to stand up against the anti-Palin Romney supporters, on these boards we frequent, to admit that Palin isn't nearly the boogeyman your cohorts claim her to be...Hamaca does and that is why he has always had my respect...you have your moments of my respect.

BUT I do enjoy your posts...your talent is unquestionable...just like Martha's insight is...I just wish you were a little more open-minded.

jerseyrepublican

Doug NYC GOP said...

JR,

I don't recall ridiculing you directly. I HAVE indeed ridiculed Palin, most specifically about her reality TV show. And it has nothing to do with a lack of courage.

I have always said I would support Palin as a nominee and have no hesitation in voting for her. Never did I say I would consider going 3rd Party or sitting home, as other have stated should a Romney nomination become reality. Perhaps those folks don't have the courage of their own convictions, to stand up to the ant-Romney Palin crowd.

Perhaps "challenge me" wasn't a fair phrase to use, since you have indeed pushed for many to research Palin. I was trying to express my appreciation for Hamaca's laying out an objective viewpoint, without having to get past the cheerleading preludes.

Anonymous said...

Hamaca has it right. I'm from Alaska and saw what was happening to her after the campaign. I think her approval rating was around 88% when McCain called her to the ticket. Then afterward, it got mean and ridiculous. Bogus lawsuit after bogus lawsuit. I believe, as an Alaskan, that she did what was best for the state (and to protect herself). She was in a no-win position if she stayed the additional 1.5 years. She's a smart lady and I have never doubted her love and dedication to this great State. She has my support.

Right Wingnut said...

This article got posted at C4P...

http://conservatives4palin.com/2011/02/sarah-palin-a-better-president-than-campaigner.html

Anonymous said...

It still amazes me that so many on the right still have not figured out why she left the Governship... even after it has been explained over and over. They repeat the money, fame, quitting under fire theories just like the left repeats the Tina Fey "see Russia from my house" line.

Sarah Palin left the Governship because she could not do her job. Due to flaws in the ethics complaints law, anyone, including made up imaginary people, could file an ethics complaint at no cost to them which would force her, her staff, state employees and state lawyers to assemble an answer to the complaint proving that she had not violated any ethics law. This led to over 20 complaints being filed, none of which were able to stand. On only one, about her kids accompanying her during the campaign one or two times amounting to $6000 and which she did not have to pay, she paid that in order to remove any doubt about it. She had to pay her own legal costs for all these complaints, which amounted to approximately $500k at a time she was making $125k per year and the McCain campaign reneging on a promise to pay those costs. All the complaints were coming from a small group of people some of whom were shown to be be associated with the Democrat Party and two of whom were being paid through side entities funded by Soros. The costs to the State in employee time and legal fees amounted to over $1 million. So, rather than waste her remaining time on this crap and costing the State more money and bankrupting her family, Sarah looked to her Lt. Governor Sean Parnell to continue what they had been doing and she left office. Her analogy was described by her relating to her basketball playing days by saying she passed the ball to the player going to the net.
As we all know, once Sarah left office, she was free to do whatever she wanted without restraints and began her relentless attack on the Obama administration and the left and the lame stream media. Sure, leaving office allowed her to travel the US and promote her book so she could pay off the legal bills and be financially secure, but it also allowed her to go around promoting the Tea Party, bringing the national TV networks to Tea Party events like the first convention. It allowed her to stand up to Obama and Obamacare and set up the killer phrase - "death panels". It allowed her to encourage conservatives to stand up and not sit down and shut up... while the "MEN" in the Republican Party hid in the bathroom combing their hair. What man in the Republican Party can you point to and say... there is a person who gave the Tea Party national prominence and a legitimacy and the guts to go to town halls and march and attend the rallies? I seem to remember some ridicule until the pussies in Washington realized they better get on side or they were out of office. So, don't give me any of this crap about her quitting... if she had not quit and come down to the lower 48 and fought the left in 2009, where the hell do you think the Conservatives and the Republican Party would be nowadays?? With pussies like Mitt, Huckleberry, Pawlenty, Thune, Gingrich, etc.
You would still be following people like Rove and the Washington butt kissing crowd.

Anonymous said...

And yes, I know Governorship is spelled this way... was typing so fast my brain skipped a few letters.

Doug NYC GOP said...

Don't feel bad, allegedly that's how "refudiate" was created.

Besides, you spelled pussies correctly, so you have that going for you. Is that what passes for quality writing at C4P?

Anonymous said...

Other than the hatred towards the other possible candidates, I totally agree with everything anon said.

Anon, you should sign your name to the end of your post...we like to know who we're talking to and you should be proud of what you wrote. I don't know if I believe that Romney and Huckabee...or others are pussies but some Washington Republicans definitely are.

jerseyrepublican

Anonymous said...

Doug, how come every time a person posts a passionate comment in favor of Palin you make allusions to c4p...why are you so obsessed with c4p?

jerseyrepublican

Anonymous said...

Now that's funny jersey. IMO snark only works if there is validity in the comment. Sorry Doug, C4P is a good site. Some of the commenters are not, but nevertheless...

SA4Palin

Doug NYC GOP said...

C4P is very adroit at setting a snarky tone, in their headlines and front page articles. More often than not, they refer to every other potential GOP candidate in a deragatory manner, in both main stories as well as the comment section.

The remark above I referenced is a typical example of what one would find there, wherein Gov. Palin is veiwed as perfect, and everone else is a P*&ssy.

Should I assume the Anon writer above also posts at C4P? Probably not, but then again, I'm not perfect. But track record and my gut tells me otherwise.

Anonymous said...

C4P is a Sarah Palin fan site...I browse there for current Palin news but I don't believe for a minute that the site is anything but subjective...I would say the same thing about other candidate's fans sites.

jerseyrepublican

BTW, I just noticed that the anon comment, in question, from yesterday that I wrote...I forgot to sign my name...so sorry about that.