Tuesday, June 16, 2009
Sarah Palin Did the Right Thing [Mike Potemra]
She accepted David Letterman’s apology, so — one hopes — this controversy is now over. But I just now read conservative columnist Debra Saunders’s fascinating take on this dust-up, and how she believes it could actually harm Palin politically; I think Corner readers will find it thought-provoking. Writes Saunders: “During the 2008 presidential campaign, I wrote about the unfair personal treatment to which the political press corps subjected Palin and her children. Now I just want her to stop milking her role as GOP martyr. . . . These [controversies] don’t tell voters that Palin has the smartest energy policy or that she’s been a more successful governor than California’s Arnold Schwarzenegger — they tell voters that Palin’s life is a nonstop soap opera. Republicans who want to win back Washington would do well to look for a winner. Not a victim.” Read the whole thing here.
I suspect Saunders is actually wrong on the politics of this. Remember, some six decades ago, a politician won the vice presidency by talking emotionally about how his children loved their dog, Checkers, and how his wife looked good in a Republican cloth coat. Less than two decades ago, another politician won the presidency by going on 60 Minutes with his wife to talk emotionally about how they worked through the problems in their marriage. We Americans — and especially American pundits — like to think of ourselves as favoring a hyper-rational politics, based on a combination of philosophical principle and utilitarian calculation. But in fact, emotional identification can be just as important, if not more so, in our political life. A respected friend was talking to me about the most recent Palin controversy the other day and told me, You just don’t get it; you’re not a parent. If parents identify with Sarah Palin, that may indeed do her more good in 2012 than any number of intelligent energy-policy proposals (or even being a better governor than Arnold).
06/16 07:57 PM
Share
