Politics can be a boring, frustrating thing, and with all the talk these days of economic stimuli, bankruptcies and international summits, it seems the American people wish things could be a little more cut-and-dry, slightly easier to digest.
A bit … simpler.
Indeed, if only there were some person on the national political scene who could once again make things black and white, then perhaps Americans would feel a bit less unsettled in this confusing time.
Furthermore, the political discourse could be shifted to topics more palatable to the average American, which would have the benefit of allowing the Obama regime to do whatever it wants without anyone noticing (I’m kidding).
It seems that only a short while ago, such a politician had the national spotlight, but has since all but vanished.
Of course, the person I’m talking about is Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, the gun-toting, camera-winking hockey mom who shocked the nation last year when she came forward to prove that caricatures could exist in the flesh and blood.
Palin’s appearance on the national political scene took Americans’ wariness and revitalized it with a new spirit of decisiveness; Americans voted against her and decisively cast her back into obscurity.
But even though Palin is no longer a key figure in national politics, she nevertheless found herself back in the limelight recently, though not necessarily out of her own choosing. The sparkling image of the Palin family, so carefully airbrushed throughout last year’s campaign, has finally lost its epoxy shine, and a tabloid frenzy has revived around Palin’s daughter, Bristol, her ex-fiance, Levi Johnston, and their newborn baby.
This is despicable, and not just because it exploits an innocent newborn boy, who, regretfully, could not choose his parents — or grandparents. The real tragedy is that the media is taking cheap shots at the Palins while there are perfectly legitimate controversies to talk about.
If Sarah Palin is to be in the news, there are plenty of issues other than those surrounding her teenage daughter.
For example, many of you may not be aware that the governor has already started a political action committee to gear up for her 2012 presidential campaign. Yes, in spite of being what many consider a major reason for the Republicans’ losing the 2008 election, Palin seems to believe that she still has a shot at the high office.
The mainstream media needs to make this a major story — not to point out how silly Palin is, nor to drum up opposition early so that she doesn’t stand a chance in 2012, but to start getting her message out so that her politics, not her personal controversies, are the topic of conversation.
Last year’s election proved that if people see enough of Palin on their televisions, then she will somehow, in defiance of all reason, gain a substantial, passionate base. Supporters will turn out in droves to see her, and, as far as the mainstream airwaves are concerned, the Palin camp is remarkably capable of shaping the subject and nature of the major political discussions.
And this is just what we need as a nation going through the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression, fighting and trying to end two wars and coping with the rise of new economic superpowers.
Don’t you wish we could be talking about something else, such as the meaning of the phrase “lipstick on a pitbull?”
Supporters of Gov. Palin, please, for the sake of your country, come forward. The issues have grown too ambiguous; they require that we pay more attention than we’d like.
We desperately need the return of a politician who is either a saint or a monster, a villain or a heroine.
Reach Kevin at krking@asu.edu.
