Monday, February 8, 2010

Hating Sarah Palin

I, like Roger, am not sure that Sarah Palin would be my first (or even my hundredth) choice for the next Presidential candidate if my choices were unconstrained. But I am still amazed by the absolute dripping hatred thrown at her daily by the left (and many on the right). I was struck, during the last Presidential campaign, by the constant yammering about her lack of experience -- well, yes, she was relatively inexperienced, but she was not the candidate with the least experience -- he won. The left, which claims to be the party of working people, display their elitist contempt constantly in their "she's not the right sort" non-stop criticism of Palin. I think Roger Kimball has it about right in this response to yet another hit piece about Palin from the HuffPo:

The hatred and contempt lavished upon Sarah Plain, from certain conservatives as well as from the Left, presents a dispiriting and, to me, hard-to-fathom spectacle. That is, I understand that the Left would regard her as a political threat and would therefore dislike her. But why the contempt? And why the contempt (and hatred) from the Right? I have several times explained why I admire Sarah Palin. Please note that I did not say I want her to run for the Presidency. But what (a locution that comes up often among her admirers) a breath of fresh air she is! Here you have a woman from a working-class background who, by dint of her own energy and  ambition, becomes Governor of her state—a good Governor, too, by all account not tainted by The New York Times. She espouses good conservative principles: self-reliance, fiscal responsibility, a strong national defense. And, on top of all that, she is a courageous and loving mother to a passel of children.

What’s not to like?  That she chose to keep and love a Down Syndrome child? That sets the teeth of many on edge, I know, though they are loathe to come right out and admit it. Granted: She’s not a lawyer. She’s not from the Ivy League. She’s not part of the Washington Establishment. Heavy liabilities, what? I acknowledge that her performance in front of Katie Couric and other barracuda-like interviewers was poor, embarrassing even. But put that and all the other charges in the scale on one side, then put her virtues on the other: which side wins out? Stefan Sirucek thinks he can simply indite the name “Sarah Palin” and all right-thinking (that is, left-leaning) people will scoff and hold their noses.  Maybe they will. But the aroma of rancidness and decay you sense is not emanating from Sarah Palin’s side of the aisle. The question is, when will the left-wing commentariat notice that the winds of opinion, to say nothing of the winds of political energy, have changed decisively against them? Scott Brown should have told them something. But Scott Brown was an impossibility. Or so they told themselves.

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