Friday, May 6, 2011

Soñador Sarah

You know the genre of movie. A horse who has lived a challenging and difficult life thus far meets her human parallel, an individual who is also experiencing the trials life can throw at us with no visible way forward. Perhaps the horse was injured and will never again be the same, nor will she be able to race at the same level as before. Maybe the owner is experiencing a devastating financial crisis which has the potential to be crippling on a number of levels. Or possibly, the horse simply does not have the temperament to be trained in the art of racing--she is too undisciplined. Perhaps her trainer is dealing with the demons of anti-authority behavior or has been too hard-headed to hold onto a job.

Their lives cross. There's an understanding that develops--they grow to respect each other in a way that results in a touching bond between them. They are both energized as they work toward a common goal, focused, gaining confidence every day. The big day of the race is upon them. They are significant underdogs--the odds, the betting, all show little or no trust on the part of the experts in their ability to place.

The race begins--suddenly, a slip, a fall, a mistake that puts her behind the rest. What chance can there possibly be? Is now the time to give up? No! The character that has been developed day by day, trial by trial will not let it happen. With a steely focus and bold courage, she recovers her footing and is off. At first it seems to the onlookers like nothing more than a noble attempt. And then, she catches up to one, then another, and another. Soon, it's the homestretch and she is neck and neck with the leader--who will have the final burst of energy to make the final push across the finish line? Yes! The triumph of the downtrodden, of the despised. Victory is sweeter than can be imagined.

Will Sarah enter the race? No one knows, perhaps not even her. If she does, it will likely be at a low point in the polls. She will have been written off by the pundits, the experts. They will say she has no chance to make up the difference--the others are too far ahead. But, among her strengths is one that people do not realize she has and that is a sense of the pulse of regular people. If she jumps in, she will play to her strengths, meeting the throngs, giving speeches, shaking hands, smiling, joking, building relationships.

We've not heard as much from Sarah in the past few weeks as before. Perhaps no one is less concerned about her showing in the polls than she is. Why? Because she knows that Americans love a come-from-behind story, they want to be part of history. And if she has done the right behind-the-scenes preparation, she can begin to surpass expectations from the outset. If she plays the script correctly, the big news daily and weekly will be how she is making up ground in the polls bit by bit, whether she can catch the next candidate, and the next.

Will the race turn out to be reality? Time will tell.

Are all movies fiction? Not "Dreamer".

16 comments:

Noelle said...

Nice homage to Louisville KY's biggest weekend. Today was the Kentucky Oaks (Louisville's day at the races) and tomorrow is the Kentucky Derby (the most exciting 2 minutes in sports).

BOSMAN said...

nice piece hamaca.

A horse like that also needs extra training to overcome it's limitations.

Perhaps it's better for that horse to sit out a race and keep it's eye on a future race when it has conquered it's demons.

Right Wingnut said...

Perhaps it's better for that horse to sit out a race and keep it's eye on a future race... - Bosman

Not if the horse was born to run.

Hamaca, She's not that far back in the meaningless polls. Most respondents probably don't think she's running. If she announces her candidacy, her numbers will go up, and Bachmann's and Trump's will go down.

hamaca said...

Noelle--my father-in-law was a jockey back in the 60s primarily in New Orleans, though he does live in Louisville now--he'll be glued to the T.V. if not there.

hamaca said...

Bosman, we'll find out soon enough whether it's decided that the horse sits this one out to potentially have a stronger showing later or whether it's decided to give it's all now, because who knows what the unknown might bring that would prevent future opportunities.

hamaca said...

RWN--my point was that for all we know, she may welcome lower showings in the polls just to potentially demonstrate the ability to overcome them and ride the momentum of the come-from-behind candidate.

Bill589 said...

If SP watched that presidential debate the other day, she is running. Somebody has to beat O and save our country.

Anonymous said...

hamaca, when I first read this piece I thought Bosman or Doug wrote this as some kind of satire comparing Sarah Palin to a horse but then as I continued to read the piece I thought maybe Rw had written the piece as an honest post comparing two stories of underdogs...I can honestly say I was surprised to see your name at the end of this post. It almost seems that you are warming up to a Palin run...maybe even rooting for her?

jerseyrepiublican

Anonymous said...

Bill, that debate was rather pathetic.

It will be good to see a first tier debate, and SP certainly would liven things up. I'm not saying that's a good thing, but I think it would encourage large numbers of voters to actually watch. Throw The Donald in there, and you'll really have a circus. I hope we don't end up with too many candidates. At that point, the debates become useless. It needs to be at the most, the top five in polling.

-Martha

Doug NYC GOP said...

Hamaca - Very well written post, we need you to do this more often.

Doug NYC GOP said...

I like how infantile FoxNews didn't aske the debate participants about Palin, in the cheesy "Lightening Round" question about the non-participants.

They brought the issue up several times. They lost a little luster in my eyes by doing so. zif they wanted everyone there, they should have waited to host a debate.

They're suppossed to report the news, not make it.

hamaca said...

Martha,

I was able to watch the first half of the debate. Pawlenty surpassed my expectations, but I suspect it was due to the level of competition. I was expecting more from Cain, although I do appreciate his attempt to describe his decision-making style. Santorum was ok, nothing special. Ron Paul was himself. Gary Johnson missed an opportunity to impress.

I think the event was underwhelming due to the lack of 1st tier candidates as you mention. I would actually love to see Trump in a debate spotlight where people don't have to kiss his butt or he'll fire them. It's clear that it's much tougher than people realize and you can't just in there and wing it.

hamaca said...

Jersey,

Compared to where I was a couple of years ago, I have definitely warmed up to Sarah. There are still others I'd support ahead of her, but she brings an element the others simply don't. I think she'll connect with the grassroots and will keep the other candidates honest.

hamaca said...

Thanks Doug--I wish time permitted.

Btw, very cool about your friendship with the guy from 9/11--I remembered his comments vividly and had even thought of them occasionally over the years.

I didn't get a chance to comment on your post there.

Anonymous said...

hamaca, This IS a well-written post, good job.

I was very unimpressed with T-Paw in that debate. He's going to get left by the way side rather quickly once the field is complete. I don't think the debate helped him. He didn't rise above the others, IMO. Maybe slightly, but not near enough.

He can't compare with Romney, Huck, Palin and Gingrich as far as presence goes, and even Daniels is more appealing simply because at least he's real. Tim comes across as phony, IMO.

I felt sorry for Johnson! I was expecting a lot more from a former successful governor. I thought he would be much more dynamic, but he was very uninteresting, and looked and sounded weak.

I guess that's harsh, but this is serious decision time.

-Martha

hamaca said...

Thanks Martha,

I'm suspecting that the reason I saw T-Paw as reasonably impressive is because I hadn't actually seen him speak before, just heard what others had said about him. Therefore, my expectations were very low and I was anticipating that he'd get clobbered by the others. He didn't and of that group would probably be my choice.

I agree, though, that he's unlikely to be able to distinguish himself among Romney, Huck, Palin, and Gingrich--I still need to see more of Daniels. In Presidential debates, really only Romney and Huck are known quantities. Gingrich would hold his own due to his regular appearances for two-way discussions of the issues on talk-shows.

I was hoping for more from Johnson--shame.