As my esteemed collegue, TG, points out, Sarah Palin's "reasons" for resigning as Governor of the state of Alaska don't quite make a lot of sense. In her grand tradition of making sounds that resemle words and sentences strung together in a meandering, illogical, snake-like construction that resembles the poetry of Spencer (Spencer and Milton classes in college are dubbed "S&M" for a reason) except with a defiant lack of lyrical grace, Palin cobbled together a speech in which she explained without explaining why she was dumping Alaska. This is the first line of her speech: "Hi Alaska, I appreciate speaking directly to you, the people I serve, as your Governor."
Understanding this woman is really hard. I've tried. I tried during the campaign and I tried again last week. Previously, when I've written about her, my tone has been flippant, dismissive. But that's just because I didn't get her. Now I know I really don't like her. Her political affiliations naturally lend reasons to oppose her (she actually seems human when she speaks about discovering her son's condition when she was pregnant, and how she understood why some women feel inclined to have abortions, yet wants to deprive them of the same choice), but after reading this speech and her recent profile in Vanity Fair (written by Todd S. Purdum), I've really reflected on the woman and determined that not only is her stance on women's issues not good, but that she is practically anti-woman. Her position as a high level female politician is harmful to the larger image of women in American politics. Even her resignation speech resembles the feigned sincerity of an ego-centric twenty-something who breaks up with his girlfriend by psychoanalyzing himself and telling her how much he's "learned," but doing so in a way that draws enormous attention to himself (kind of like making a speech in front of an American flag on the Friday before the Forth of July would if you happened to be, oh, say, the governor of Alaska).
Further enhancing the case that she is anti-woman is that she is not even wholly individual. Most of the things she does, even though they can be unpredictable, stink of imitation. She is not a free-thinking, independant politician/woman. She is instead a pastiche of the only acceptable version of a female politician to the masses of gun-toting macho hunters to which she panders. She knows her demographic, the people who will give her the attention, the hooting, the cheers. And she reveals this lack of political substance whenever she condemns "politics as usual."
As Purdum's piece points out, Palin leaves behind her a trail of disillusioned politicos who she's used to climb the ladder and then turned her back on. The most telling of these is "Walter Hickel, 89, a former two-term governor and interior secretary, and the grand old man of Alaska politics, who was co-chair of Palin’s winning gubernatorial campaign, in 2006." Purdum says he now "washes his hands of her," saying, "I don’t give a damn what she does.” McCain himself left her out of a list of promising operatives in the Republican party, and pointed out that he left her out. Purdum reports that several people he spoke to in Alaska independantly accused Palin of having, "narcissistic personality disorder." She simply doesn't have the stuff to back the showmanship, so continuous bombasity is necessary and, apparently, easy for her to summon.
Palin isn't into politics as usual because there are unwritten rules in politics, humility that needs to be born, and inevitable reciprocation of a back-scratch now and again. Such acts are beneath her. Palin instead plows through, winning elections by turning herself into the fantasy of the people who vote for her; the men love her cause she wears heels and glasses AND she shoots wolves from helicopters; the women love her, and I say this at the risk of pigeon-holing the women of Alaska, becuase she doesn't completely leave them in the dust–her level of poise is attainable. Purdum calls her "the sexiest brand in Republican politics," and he's exactly right. The Republican party has branded itself as the party of morals and values, disapproval and condemnation (not conservativism, which is perhaps why they're flapping in the wind). Palin has branded herself as a sexy version of all of those things. Frankly, I'm not surprised that someone decided to make a pornographic film based on her persona literally days after McCain announced her as his running mate. She represents a new objectified stereotype: the primped, unstoppable, Christian super-mom balancing career, God, children, nice calves, and a healthy sex-life.
There's nothing wrong with being sexy, but sexiness in some form seems to be Palin's driving force. Even every time I look at her I'm like, "what's her deal? What's going on in that head of her's, really?" and what is sexiness without a level of mystery? I suspect she won the '06 gubernatorial election cause people just wondered what she would do.
Lately, though, she's been floundering. Out of the national spotlight after last years presidential race, Palin found herself in Alaska with a pile of ethics charges, two infants in her home, and a grandbaby-daddy she couldn't stand. She needed to shake things up. So she does an interview with Runner's World in which she poses provocatively with a flag and then breaks up with her beloved Alaska. To find herself. Because they had a good thing but it's time to move on. It's not you, it's her. But don't worry, she promises that "I will always be standing by, ready to assist." And remember, Alaska, "We are not retreating. We are advancing in another direction."
