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Published in The New York Post on Thursday September 4, 2008
PALIN: NEW KIND OF WOMAN POL
ST. PAUL
With sass and wit, sarcasm and sincerity, courage and strength, Sarah Palin last night showed us a new model of female politician.
Her family stories were genuine and real. Her commitment to special-needs children was moving. Her contempt for special interests was obvious.
And her putdowns of Barack Obama’s rhetoric and her praise of John McCain’s character and achievements were welcome and well delivered.
Many women look bad when they attack their opponents, too often seeming strident and shrill. But Palin was funny and irreverant, with a biting wit and a joy of combat that was exhilarating to watch.
Sometimes she reminded us of the hockey mom she is. Other times, she was an American Margaret Thatcher - mobilizing humor and biting satire to mock the opposition.
Where Hillary Clinton has but two speeds - full forward and stop - Palin displayed a range of rhetoric, emotion and language that sometimes evoked moving patriotism, at other times hilarious irony - and, frequently, a strong dose of common sense.
If her style in attacking and mocking her opponent was Thatcher-esque, her range of rhetorical style was Rooseveltian. She is, in fact, one of the best public speakers in our politics today.
Now the Democrats are stuck in a trap. They’ve demeaned, patronized and smeared a woman who’s well on her way to becoming very, very popular. Her speech will create legions of fans; the Democratic smears of the last few days will create, for Obama, legions of enemies.
This man who dedicated two years to stopping a woman from being president now has to answer for spending two months stopping one from becoming vice president - a task he hopes to accomplish using women’s votes.
Remember: The swing vote in this election are single moms. Just as the soccer moms dominated in 1996 and security moms in 2004, now unmarried women, mostly with children, will determine the outcome of the 2008 race. And they’re finding in Sarah Palin an advocate whose life isn’t far different from their own and whose priorities mirror theirs’.
As withering in her contempt for the country-club elites of the Republican establishment as for the pandering of the Democrats, Palin stands in stark contrast to the inherited elitism of the Bushes, the Romneys and the Kennedys. She’s a woman of the people.
Was this a Republican attacking big oil? Was it the nominee for vice president of a major party who laced into earmarks and lobbyists and PACs? Yes it was - and how refreshing!
In her sincere embrace of her family and her nonjudgmental introduction of her pregnant daughter, Palin won the hearts of many single moms. By evoking life in a modest, middle-class town, she established an empathy with voters akin to what Bill Clinton built when he ate at McDonalds’.
How are the Democrats to live down their assaults on Sarah? How not to seem the enemies of the very voters they have to get?
Strategically, Palin achieved the convention’s core goal - to show how McCain is not a clone of George Bush, but a man of the people eager for change and demanding of reforms.
Now the gap between Obama and McCain is not so wide. Now it is clear that they both stand for change.
So now the fear of a naive and untried Obama leading the nation through perilous times at home and abroad can work to drive voters over the narrower synapse and get them to vote for McCain.
Mission accomplished, Sarah.
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Comments
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I enjoyed her speech. For me she came across as very genuine and effectively began the process of introducing herself to the voters. Something else has happened, at least for me. James Carville, the democrats pit bull in chief, was on the night before last and vehemently declared “she is utterly unqualified to be the VP nominee …”. Certainly a charge that voters will assess over the next couple of months. However, Carvilles declaration planted this thought in my mind: if she is utterly unqualified then so is Barrack Obama. In fact when I weigh their history of work and accomplishment I would give the nod to Palin. If my feelings are held by many then the dems have a couple of problems. The obvious one is the re-opening of the discussion regarding Obama’s real qualifications to be President. The less obvious is that it triggers a fight between the Democrats Presidential candidate and Republicans VP candidate. Seems to me at least this would be a major blunder for the democrats as it drags Obama to the VP level and leaves McCain alone as the only Presidential candidate on the stage.
C’mon, just admit it Dick. McCain just won the election.
And it’s Hillary vs. Palin in 2012. And you know who wins that? An amazing historic day for the Republican party and the American people! I feel reborn as a Republican. Always a conservative, now a Republican again.
Style, but no substance best describe Sarah’s teleprompter speech….Sarah’s song. She portrayed herself as being a believer in liberty, but distrustful of government. Like Bush and McCain and Cheney, Sarah Palin embraces war and lowering taxes. Suggesting that that is a fiscally responsible posture is crazy. Palin tried to build on the silly meme that Obama is somehow positioning himself as a modern Messiah, while the McCain campaign s tried to convey that a new kind of 21st century “saint” has arrived; Saint Sarah, the cultural warrior.
Palin’s speech was not meant to inform or inspire Americans. It was meant to rile, to stir, the vaunted base of the religious right-wingers who have filled the ranks of Republican party delegates since 1980.
Has the real Saint Sarah arrive or is it Mary Poppins? November will decide……..and all I can say……yeah, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil……for though are with me.
The Speech
From the opening lines I was just staring with my mouth open, telling my wife that this lady was incredible. Great speaker, political savvy, informed on the issues. And it just kept going. Some hard jabs at the opposition were well justified af…
Michael……is the style but no substance the same standard that you apply to Barack. He has less substance then her. Who said she embraces war, I didnt hear that from her, but if you want to equate not bowing to dictators as war hungry, you are extremely off base.
As far as her speech, you might want to talk to other before you think that it was just meant for right wingers…..please keep thinking this, you will bury yourself in the same hole as linking McCain and Bush as thought they were the same. She did inspire, just maybe not elite liberals which she knows wont vote for the ticket anyhow.
You can tell the panic, you always can tell with liberals. All common sense will go out the window.
Yup, Dick. You are right on this one.
Poor michaelcoogan sounds like he is at a loss for words to reveal the depth of his despondence over the oratorical evisceration just dealt out by SP. I don’t know who “though” is… Must be a Mary Poppins reference.
My only complaint with the speech was that she mentioned John McCain’s name too many times.
JIM KUHNHENN, Associated Press Writer, tried to pick holes in her speech. His best try was asserting Biden got more votes for president than Palen got for mayor. Of course, Biden never ran for President. He ran to be the Democratic Nominee.
SP never said she didn’t bring federal dollars to Alaska – she just said she opposed the WASTEFUL spending. There’s a difference.
It is a sad day for the Dems…
Dick, you always get it wrong. The people won’t fall for this again. The contempt the Republicans show for American intelligence will backfire. Obama will win the Election with the class and dignity that will raise America out of its immoral swamp of big business greed and government corruption.
The MSM appears to have changed its story line after Governor Palin’s dazzling speech … which we now know was given with the handicap of a defective teleprompter. Something only the most experienced politicians (like Bill Clinton) can pull off.
Rather than insult Palin as a lightweight, they are now complaining that she was too aggressive in her attacks on Obama. Rather then being too weak, Palin is actually too strong.
As always, the MSM loves to attack conservatives who are down, but it does not like it when conservatives push back with confidence and humor.
These Bamabots are not seeing the true picture of what their candidate really stands for, he has and will support all his special interest lobbyists who have helped him get to where he is with ZERO vetting. As far as who gets more votes, Biden got ten times less votes running for the Dem nomination than Palin got running for gov. It amuses me that anyone who has been force fed the the fallacy that is Barack Obama has not done any research on the man. He has been more radical in his socialist views of America and the world than even the most hardened & tested Liberals in congress,Obama has changed his position on everything from school reform,campaign finance, to the war on terrorism. Obama does this more than the wind shifts on a cold winter day in Chicago. He has been caught on record putting down normal everyday Americans(clinging to guns & religion),Obama has made a promise to stick with Fed funding for his election only to flip and go back on his word, he has done nothing non-partisan(meeting with McCain early in his career as a Senator to co-sponsor ethics reform)only to shake hands on it and commit then pretend like the meeting never happened. Now that I have heard the McCain family history I have one question about the Obama’s history helping the needy, WHAT HAVE THEY DONE? Obama gets elected Senator and his wife gets a $200′000. raise and her employer gets a earmark directly from Barack.The McCain’s including the so called trophy wife of his, have spent an entire lifetime doing things for hundreds and possibly thousands of other people not just in America but in third world nations. It’s funny that during the Dem convention not one person came forward to express the Obama story, no long time friends no childhood friends nobody(they have been deemed liabilities) and yet John and Cindy have all these life long friends and comrades come before the American citizens and tell us their commitment to all people, heck the pictures that were showed said it all. The Obama’s are self serving individuals having done nothing but tear at this great country that have given them the life and successes they now enjoy(Affirmative action per their own admittance)the McCain’s have dedicated their lives and money to worthy causes here and far,far away. Before declaring you my brothers keeper show me how you have taken care of your own brother!!!
Dick ,You are right ..Gov. Sahra Palin is a Major Star..And still has the Liberal media spinning..this is friday th 5th of sept.& the 360 cooper tonite is still spinning @ 360 trying to do her in… can’t wait for the debate with Biden..I voting for her & Mc Cain..I was a demo like you but over the years they are to liberal for me now….