
 |
|
February 10, 2012
Lisa M. Krieger: Man with defibrillator demands access to his own heart's information
David G. Savage: Why activists may not be in a hurry to have High Court rule on alternative marriage
February 9, 2012
Laura McMullen: 10 Least Expensive Public Schools for Out-of-State Students
Kimberly Palmer: How to actually enjoy -- relaxing, financially -- your vacation
February 8, 2012
Warren Richey: Why momentous Prop. 8 ruling might not satisfy gay-rights groups
Menachem Wecker: Though Controversial, LL.M.'s Can Lead to Specialized Legal Jobs
The Kosher Gourmet byDana Velden: Going to the bother of making soup? You know it better be good. This CREAM OF TOMATO SOUP certainly is! And it's a cinch to make, too (Includes techinques and serving secrets)
February 7, 2012
Frank J. Gaffney, Jr.: Caught off-guard? President's Super Bowl interview with Matt Lauer gives those who need a reason not to vote for him, a darn good one
Suzanne Bohan: Leaping lizards! Tiny reptiles advancing robot design
February 6, 2012
Jonathan Tobin: Iran Threatens Israel With Destruction, But the New York Times Doesn't Hear It
Jeffrey Fleishman: In newly democratic Egypt, tens of democracy activists jailed, to stand trial; their groups are 'threatening the stability of the homeland'
Julie Deardorff : Researchers say antioxidants may not be that effective and could do more harm than good
Mark Clayton: How did Anonymous hackers eavesdrop on FBI and Scotland Yard?
February 3, 2012
Edmund Sanders : Israeli official says Iran is creating missile that could reach East Coast of US
Victoria Kim: Immigrant-smuggling ring used black drivers to avoid racial profiling
February 2, 2012
Jim Carney: Wrong number call may have saved her life
Reza Kahlili : Ex-CIA spy in Iran's Revolutionary Guard: What Obama doesn't grasp about striking deals with Tehran
Tina Susman: For woodchuck rescuer, every day is Groundhog Day
February 1, 2012
Brian Bennett: US officials see increasing threat of domestic attack from Iran
Emily Brandon: How to Take Advantage of New 401(k) Fee Disclosures
January 31, 2012
January 30, 2012
Paul Richter and Ramin Mostaghim: Misreading Teheran's limits -- deadly and economically devastating as they may be -- is a risk administration, Europe seem willing to take
Suzanne Bohan: Warning: Nap-deprived tots missing more than sleep, study finds
Meg Handley: Banks Revamping Rewards Programs to Woo Customers
January 27, 2012
Caroline B. Glick: Obama: Of course I intend to prevent a nuclear holocaust . . . in a few months
Yochonon Donn: In liberal New York City, fervently-Orthodox Jews may soon be getting a district to call their own
Jeannine Stein: An inflated ego and thinking you're 'all that' doesn't just make others sick of you, it can make you ill
Katy Hopkins: New budget rules may affect how much money you get for college
January 26, 2012
Ed Koch: To the New York Times, calling for the murder of Jews by those capable of having their incitement taken seriously isn't news
Jeannine Stein: Mental illness struck one in five U.S. adults in 2010: Report
January 25, 2012
Richard Simon: House passes two bills endorsing the use of religious symbols at military memorials
Fred Weir: Putin: Multiethnic Russia cannot survive as a US-style 'melting pot'; must find its own way
Susan Johnston: 5 Sneaky Coupon Strategies Consumers Should Watch Out For
January 24, 2012
Carol Clark: The price of your soul: How your brain decides whether to 'sell out'
Caroline B. Glick: America lost most in 'Arab Spring'. Sadly, many voters still don't grasp the extent
Warren Richey: Drug criminal scores win in GPS ruling from conservative-leaning high court
Erika Bolstad: Black conservatives gather to talk about gaining strength
January 23, 2012
Melissa Dribben: Jewish voters to play a key role in Florida's Republican primary
Jordan Rau: In quest to grow, Catholic hospital system will announce this morning its break from church
Ali Safi: U.S. envoy gives Taliban terms for peace talks
January 19, 2012
January 18, 2012
January 17, 2012
Frank J. Gaffney Jr.: No-kidding red lines: U.S. response to an Iranian nuke may be bluster, but Israel's won't be
David G. Savage: They sued their principals after slandering them online --- now the cases are headed to the Supreme Court
David Francis: Where to Invest in 2012: With stocks expected to rebound, opportunity abounds for investors
January 13, 2012
Ben Lynfield: Israeli lawmakers move to annex Jewish Judea, one museum at a time
Alexia Elejalde-Ruiz: Thriving through touch: Gentle massage helps older people with low mobility improve in mind and body
January 12, 2012
Warren Richey: Landmark Supreme Court ruling a 'resounding win' for religious groups
Warren Richey: Supreme Court says no to new rule on eyewitness testimony
John Fauber : Statins found to raise diabetes risk in postmenopausal women
Katy Hopkins : Consider This Before You Pay for an Online Degree
The Kosher Gourmet by Joseph Erdos: This mushroom and barley soup has an intense -- almost nutty -- flavor that mixes robust with Middle East. It has creaminess without cream
January 11, 2012
Shari Roan: Millions of atrial fibrillation sufferers at risk for devastating, but preventable, stroke
Tom Hussain: Pakistan -- recipient of more than $21 billion in civilian and military aid -- speeds pursuit of Iranian pipeline, defying US
David G. Savage: High court signals it won't be loosening TV's 'indecency' rules
Stephen Ceasar: Oklahoma's Islamic law amendment can't go into effect, court rules
January 10, 2012
Reza Kahlili: From an ex-CIA spy: US must exploit new split in Iran's Revolutionary Guard
Karen Kaplan: Study: Nicotine replacement products ineffective when used in real-life situations
January 9, 2012
Michael Doyle: Put through legal hell over dream home, couple fought back hard --- all the way to Supreme Court
|
| |
Jewish World Review
Nov. 30, 2009
/ 12 Kislev 5770
Sarah Palin: Going Rogue, Getting Even
By
Debra J. Saunders
| 
|
|
|
|
http://www.JewishWorldReview.com |
"Going Rogue: An American Life" acquaints the reader with author Sarah
Palin's life and work before she was plucked from her Little House on
the Tundra to serve as John McCain's running mate and turned into a
national caricature.
Here you see the Alaska governor with the 90 percent approval rating,
who took on not only what became known as the GOP's "Corrupt Bastards
Club" but also Big Oil companies that were "just sitting on" their North
Slope leases when they should have been drilling.
The 2008 campaign coverage portrayed Palin as a rigid culture warrior.
Breaking with the stereotype, "Going Rogue" tells the story of a social
conservative who in 2006 vetoed a bill to ban the extension of benefits
to the same-sex partners of state employees because she thought it was
unconstitutional. Despite her aversion to tax increases, the pragmatic
Palin also championed a sales tax to fund Wasilla law enforcement.
Palin never addresses the frequent criticism thrown her way by
journalists who wondered if Palin possessed any intellectual curiosity
in light of her failure to get a passport until 2007. If she failed
to roam the Tuscan hills in her junior year abroad, at least thanks to
her teacher father, Sarah Heath grew up majoring in the exotic natural
world around her. She knew all about the state bird (ptarmigans), the
difference between glacial crevices and crevasses, as well as what
differentiates the grizzly from the brown bear. Dang.
To establish her literary credentials, Palin offers quotes from Blaise
Pascal and Pearl S. Buck. She was the reader of the Heath family.
Growing up, she recalls reading "The Pearl," "Animal Farm" and "Jonathan
Livingston Seagull" which probably had folks at the New York Review
of Books howling. And that's OK because Palin never aspires to be seen
as an intellectual not when she perkily observes, "Everything I ever
needed to know, I learned on the basketball court."
Of course, no Sarah Palin story would be complete without a media
pile-on and the virulently anti-Palin have been happy to oblige.
New York Times columnist Frank Rich whacked Palin for her "wide-eyed
infatuation with show-business celebrities" because Palin mentioned
talking to Bono and Warren Beatty on the phone. That's a choice hit,
considering how star-slobbering and celebrity-waving Democrats tend to
be.
Rich also went after the Alaska governor for drafting a letter from G0d
to her family about Trig, the Down syndrome baby whom she was about to
deliver. Now, I understand that in some exalted circles, it is
fashionable to make fun of people's faith, even when a working mother of
four is bargaining with her God as she faces the daunting prospect of
bringing into the world a special needs child. So: Ha, ha, ha. Thanks
for the lesson in liberal compassion.
Newsweek didn't boost its credibility with its cover of Sarah Palin in
running shorts next to the headline: "How do you solve a problem like
Sarah?"
The Associated Press assigned 11 reporters to "fact-check" the book. I
use quotes because the article ignores big issues in the book while it
selectively culls minutiae. For example, Palin writes that a Supreme
Court Exxon Valdez decision went "in favor of the people." The AP story
somehow ignores Palin's history in pushing for monetary damages for the
victims, but instead quotes Palin having once said she was
"disappointed" at the court's reduction in damages. The piece fails to
give Palin credit for taking a position that put the pro-drilling Palin
at odds with Big Oil in its trivial pursuit to bare a niggling
inconsistency. AP used a lot of people to tell readers nothing.
Much ink has been devoted to Palin's salvos against McCain campaign
gurus Steve Schmidt and Nicolle Wallace, whom Palin blames for
over-handling her and underselling McCain. Schmidt told "Politico" that
Palin's book is "all fiction."
Palin wants readers to believe that she would have been a better running
mate if only McCain handlers had heeded a grassroots "Free Sarah"
campaign. The problem is: Palin's failure to own up to her knowledge
gaps on foreign policy she couldn't even answer a simple question
about bad Supreme Court decisions suggest that if freed to just be
herself, Palin may well have fallen flatter faster.
The book begins with an Arctic-centric map that shows "The View from the
Top of the World." It's a nice touch that shows how insignificant and
distant Washington looks from Wasilla.
While I appreciate Palin sharing the perspective, it would be nice if
she had taken on many of the perceptions some voters have developed of
her. There's no question that many in the media treated Palin and her
family poorly. That said, Palin herself blew the Katie Couric
interview, and not just because she appeared impatient. Palin herself
quit her job as Alaska governor, despite her obligation to state voters.
Palin herself seems happy to parade herself as the far right's favorite
victim, when a serious politician would be out trying to woo skeptics.
Sarah Palin has her shtick down. She's folksy and quotable. She has
delivered a book that will thrill a base that loves to shout, "They done
her wrong." Her true believers will see even measured criticism as
another assault on their gal. At the end of the book tour, she returns
to her now-familiar role of victim, a victim on the top of her world.
Every weekday JewishWorldReview.com publishes what many in the media and Washington consider "must-reading". Sign up for the daily JWR update. It's free. Just click here.
Comment JWR contributor Debra J. Saunders' column by clicking here.
Debra J. Saunders Archives
© 2009, Creators Syndicate
|
|

Arnold Ahlert
Mitch Albom
Jay Ambrose
Michael Barone
Barrywood
Tony Blankley
Lori Borgman
Stratfor Briefing
Mona Charen
Linda Chavez
Richard Z. Chesnoff
Ann Coulter
Greg Crosby
Alan Douglas
Larry Elder
Suzanne Fields
Frank J. Gaffney
Bernie Goldberg
Jonah Goldberg
Julia Gorin
Jonathan Gurwitz
Paul Greenberg
Argus Hamilton
Victor Davis Hanson
Betsy Hart
Ron Hart
Nat Hentoff
Marybeth Hicks
David Horowitz
Jeff Jacoby
Renee James
Paul Johnson
Jack Kelly
Ed Koch
Ch. Krauthammer
Michael Ledeen
John Leo
David Limbaugh
Kathryn Lopez
Rich Lowry
Michelle Malkin
Jackie Mason
Ann McFeatters
Dale McFeatters
Dana Milbank
Jeanne Moos
Dick Morris
Jim Mullen
Deroy Murdock
Judge A. Napolitano
Bill O'Reilly
Kathleen Parker
Star Parker
Dennis Prager
Wesley Pruden
Tom Purcell
Sharon Randall
Robert Robb
Cokie & Steve Roberts
Heather Robinson
Pat Sajak
Debra J. Saunders
Martin Schram
Culture Shlock
David Shribman
Roger Simon
Michael Smerconish
Thomas Sowell
Ben Stein
Mark Steyn
John Stossel
Cal Thomas
Dan Thomasson
Bob Tyrrell
Ben Wattenberg
Diana West
Dave Weinbaum
George Will
Walter Williams
Byron York
ZeitGeist
Mort Zuckerman

Robert Arial
Chuck Asay
Baloo
Chip Bok
Dry Bones
Lisa Benson
John Branch
John Cole
J. D. Crowe
John Deering
Brian Duffy
Everything's Relative
Mallard Fillmore
Glenn Foden
Jake Fuller
Bob Gorrel
Joe Heller
David Hitch
Jerry Holbert
Lee Judge
Steve Kelley
Jeff Koterba
Dick Locher
Jimmy Margulies
Rick McKee
Michael Ramirez
Kevin Siers
Jeff Stahler
Ed Stein
Danna Summers
John Trever
Gary Varvel
Kirk Walters

Mr. Know-It-All
Dr. Peter Gott
GET A JOB! by Marty Nemko
Richard Lederer
Frugal Living
Tech Maven
On Nutrition
Bookmark These
Bruce Williams
|