TWO WOMEN
Sarah Palin has once again demonstrated her capacity to continually confound and astound conventional politics and politicians. Her sudden decision to leave office 18 months early has created a chatterati firestorm dwarfed only by the Michael Jackson storyline. These are indeed plummy times for cable news.
The big unanswered question is "Why?" Why did she abandon her sole toehold on anything resembling a resume builder to strike out on the rubber chicken circuit? Did she do it because she was just sick and tired of all the crap she and her family was taking? Was it an opening gambit aimed at staking a claim on the 2012 presidential nomination? Or was it about cashing in or her notoriety while the phone was still ringing?
Who knows? I sure as heck don't and I don't think anyone else does. My guess is that all of the above would be the correct answer. One thing for sure. She is, as they would say in New England, a real pisser.
In some ways I admire her pluck and her willingness to follow her gut. Fortune favors the bold and bold she has in spades. Defying conventional wisdom is how new conventional wisdoms get born. On the other hand, there is a reason why they call it conventional wisdom. Most often it is how things actually play out.
None of this will matter if she decides to stay on the lecture tour and spend her time supporting other candidates. It will come back to haunt her if she decides to run. She will hear over and over variations on the old political cliché "If you can't stand the kitchen …" well, you know the rest.
Someone made the comparison to Hillary Clinton, pointing out that she certainly had more than her share of bad days at the office but she just put her head down and plowed on through it all to get to where she is today. I think that is a fair point to make.
Governor Palin maybe forgot that she wasn't the role model for a female politician getting brutalized by the opposition and the media. Nothing she has gone through even comes close to what Hillary Clinton has been through.
Hillary stuck it out. Sarah cashed in her hand. As a result, maybe we will see each of them a little differently.
July 7, 2009
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Sarah Palin
Hillary Clinton
