A Sarah Palin Tribute — Part 2

Well my friends, my good buddy-David Bozeman- has written another thought-provoking article on Sarah Palin. And since his last one was so well-received here, I deemed it an honor to post this one as well. Of course, there is one thing that needs to be mentioned here which no one seems to be talking about-well except for Hank Williams Jr.-Sarah just doesn’t govern Alaska, she saved it from the brink of ruin. She has far more experience dealing with a failing economy than Obama has-but America made its choice and it went for the village idiot. Got to love the PSP Generation.A

A Sarah Palin Tribute – Part 2                                                                                                                           by David Bozeman

The true measure of a leader lies not in a gushing dissection of her many attributes but in gauging her effect on others, though in the case of Sarah Palin I could spend all day on both. The truly greats, of course, the Winston Churchills and the Ronald Reagans, embody ideals much bigger than themselves and are definable not by the latest CNN poll numbers but by their legacies. Sarah Palin’s impact on modern conservatism is incalculable, from the mundane — curing a certain someone’s severe case of writer’s block, to the profound — ginning up the conservative base and inspiring special-needs citizens and their families.

She has a gift to, without even trying, bring out the best in those who follow her. She inspired John McCain, for instance, to choose her and not Joe Lieberman or Tom Ridge. A brilliant move and he looked better with her on the ticket. She saved a Republican Party teetering on the brink of oblivion. Unfortunately, she could not undo in nine weeks what the party had done to itself for the better part of eight years, but she bought us time.

She has paid for the time with undeniable, hypnotic likability. Watching her in her warm, homey kitchen, cooking and washing her hands during a Greta Van Susteren interview on Fox News is the modern-day equivalent for certain political junkies of wishing you were a Brady kid. And because we like her we want to protect her. Even this owly, bookish type has become quite chivalrous — criticize me if you want, knock George W. Bush and I’ll say nothing, but don’t mess with Sarah. Conservative women, who well know that she is tough and can take care of herself, see her as a little sister they want to look out for.
Once you protect her, and because she defines authenticity, you are upholding her’s — and your own — values: common sense, rugged self-reliance, traditional family, faith, etc.

She not only personifies, she rouses an ideal in American life that owes as much to populism as to conservatism, the notion that everyday, small-town Americans cannot only beat City Hall but run it. If she were a liberal Democrat, her meteoric climb would be celebrated like a modern day Mr. Smith Goes to Washington or Farmers’s Daughter, the 1947 Oscar winner (starring the now underrated Loretta Young) about a housekeeper whose homespun wisdom and integrity catapult her to Congress.

But, of course, in 2008, Washington-media culture is predominantly liberal, so she must be stopped. A pro-life, PTA mom from a hick town 3000-plus miles from the New York-Washington-Ivy League corridor threatens the ruling class that thinks that they and they alone possess the brain power and moral certitude to mold public policy. Joe the Plumber may not have been the spawn of Sarah Palin, but he backtalked the anointed leader and then joined the McCain/Palin campaign. This temper tantrum must be nipped in the bud lest the other children in flyover country think they can govern themselves, too.

Beyond ideology, the Sarah Palins of the world are the incubators, not just of the next generation, but, as Camille Paglia noted, of the next generation of feminism. Aging, unmarried feminists may produce the dogma, but the Sarah Palins are making babies and instilling values.

It is not just that their values jibe seamlessly with their lives — their values are the right ones. America may occasionally need tweaking and bumper sticker platitudes promising hope and change may win the day. But certain cornerstones never crumble, namely faith and family. Sarah Palin — and the millions of moms she inspires — is not just a conduit, she is a cradle. She is a great governor, but it is the woman who fills the arenas.