Sarah: How a Hockey Mom Turned Alaska’s Political Establishment on Its Ear
Sep 3rd, 2008 by JohnFeroce
Sarah: How a Hockey Mom Turned Alaska’s Political Establishment on Its Ear,” by Kaylene Johnson — is at No. 12 in all of books on Amazon. It is the No. 1 bestseller in Biographies & Memoirs of Women and also No. 1 in Biographies & Memoirs of Leaders and Notable People — Politicians. UPDATE: “Sarah” is now, after 1pm Pacific, at #10 on Amazon’s sales chart; it’s the only biography in the top 10.
“She didn’t settle for the status quo. She took on the establishment whether in her own party or out of her party,” said Curt Menard, mayor of Matanuska-Susitna.”
http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/09/03/palin.track.record/index.html
It will be even bigger. Good posts, I don’t feel lonely any longer. I wish I had time, but maybe you can look at the Dick Morris and Larry Sabato columns on Rasmussen. They are posts waiting to happen John and Frank.
” WASILLA, Alaska (CNN) — The first time I met Sarah Palin, I went into her Anchorage office to interview the first woman and youngest governor ever elected in Alaska.
As a freelance writer, I had been asked by Kent Sturgis, publisher at Epicenter Press, to write her biography. It was a plum assignment; Alaskans are intrigued by this woman.
I took a seat at the end of a couch that was draped with the cape of a brown bear her father had shot on a hunting trip.
Rather than sit behind her sprawling governor’s desk, she pulled up a chair and began to ask me questions: Did I have a family? What were my children’s names? How had I come to write a story about her? (As if this were surprising to her.)
Her office door was open, and eventually her husband, Todd, strolled in and casually sat at her desk, listening to our conversation while keeping an eye on the news quietly being broadcast on a small television near her desk.
It is easy to see why Alaskans hold the affection they do for their governor. She holds over 80 percent approval ratings in part because she connects with people. During her campaign for City Council, she and Todd went door to door pulling a wagon with their son Track, 4, and 2-year-old daughter, Bristol.
She doesn’t have to pretend to understand the sensibilities of the average citizen, because she’s been there; she and her family have experienced the same struggles to get by. iReport.com: Your thoughts on Sarah Palin
Alaskans like her fierce resolve in standing up against her own ethically challenged state Republican Party and confronting big oil companies whose power fuels the state’s economy.
How her spunk translates onto the national scene is unfolding daily.
Palin’s firing of Public Safety Commissioner Walt Monegan has become the first serious controversy during her term in office. The investigation under way will determine whether she unduly influenced Monegan to seek the firing of her ex-brother-in-law, trooper Michael Wooten.
The latest controversy over the Palins’ unmarried daughter’s pregnancy is a private family matter that has spilled over into public spectacle.
If the Palin family story is discussed at all, it should be in the broader context of how, as parents, we talk to our children about sex and how, as a nation, we support mothers and address teenage pregnancy but not as fodder for public gossip.
As the family negotiates these very personal decisions in the light of a very public campaign, the issue does reveal a consistency between Palin’s personal beliefs and her public pro-life stance. Just as the family has embraced the challenges of raising a special-needs child, they have embraced 17-year-old Bristol’s decision to take on the responsibilities of becoming a parent.
The truth is that the meteoric rise of a small town mayor onto the national scene is as stunning to Alaskans as the rest of the nation.
Sarah was born in Idaho in 1964, the third of four children. The family moved to Skagway, Alaska, when she was 2 months old, and her father took a teaching job there.
Palin’s mother, Sally, took the family to church, and her father, Chuck, instilled in her a love for sports and competition. Today, Palin’s parents stay busy hunting, fishing, gold-mining and caring for grandchildren. Chuck is a retired teacher, and Sally worked as a school secretary.
Just a few short months ago, I sat at the kitchen table of Rev. Paul Riley and his wife, Helen, in Wasilla, Alaska. This soft-spoken elderly couple may be two of just a handful of people who are not surprised by her nomination as John McCain’s choice for vice president of the United States.
Palin grew up in the Rileys’ church, and they share a sense of destiny about Palin’s future. When she was elected governor, Riley told Palin that like the Old Testament story of Queen Esther, she had “come to the Kingdom for such a time as this.”
During a second interview with Palin, I asked what legacy she hoped to leave as governor of Alaska.
“I hope our legacy is that we put Alaskans’ interests first,” Palin said. “Alaska is not just an outpost on the edge of the continent. We can and should become bigger contributors to the United States, both in terms of resources and of leadership.”
Sarah Palin has certainly put Alaska on the national map and put herself forward as one of those leaders.
Tonight, when she speaks at the Republican National Convention, the rest of America will meet her.
The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of the writer.”
http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/09/02/kaylene.johnson.palin/index.html
Interesting how the media treated her when she was not the Republican VP candidate.
Oct 2007 Newsweek article
“New research shows that voters give female governors significantly higher marks than their male counterparts on such qualities as honesty, cooperation and caring—as well as toughness. And at a time when the national debate has become poisonously partisan, governors like Napolitano, 49, and Palin, 43, are making their mark with a pragmatic, postpartisan approach to solving problems, a style that works especially well with the large numbers of independent voters in their respective states.”
more
“It’s no coincidence that two of the nation’s most popular women governors come from frontier states (Arizona and Alaska were the 48th and 49th, respectively, to join the Union) without established social orders that tend to block women from power.”
Full Story http://www.newsweek.com/id/42534/
Everybody grow up and give her a chance.
I am beginning to feel compassion for Sarah Palin and her family.
There is no doubt she is a fine woman and has achieved much as a person, as a wife, as a mother, as a citizen, and as a politician.
Her flaw is having accepted McCain’s call to service. She does not understand her limitations. She is not ready for this.
She is in way over her head.
In fact, I will go so far as to say that McCain made a cynical and cruel choice. Shame on him! His vetting of her was pitifully inadequate. This crunch on her could have been predicted and prevented.
Surely McCain knew the scrutiny she would get by the media and by the opposition.
Surely McCain knew how much crap would come down on her and her family.
These people are being destroyed, day by day!
This must stop now!
Do you know who Peggy Noonan and Mike Murphy are? Here is what they said today, not knowing the mike was on and the tape was rolling:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/09/03/peggy-noonan-mike-murphy_n_123647.html
McCain has to find a graceful way out of this mess.
He has several competent people who can still be put in place quickly as the VP nominee.
This would not be the first time in our history that this has happened.
Surely a change at this point will make McCain look bad politically, at least temporarily. But the upside is, if he admits his mistake and takes action on it, this will show him to be a compassionate man, willing to take the political blows for the sake of this talented lady and her family.
This has got to stop right now, and McCain needs to take immediate action!!!
“(Palin) is in way over her head.”
And yet, she’s still more qualified to be a chief executive than Barack Obama, who’s afraid to go on Fox News.
Well, I am going to stick to my guns. Gov. Palin is not qualified.
Those who support her do not argue that she is. The main argument in her favor in some unquantifiable appeal that she has rather her record. I don’t get it the appeal other than that she is woman with great family that will get the “split tails” more interested in the ticket.
However, I am going to move on. I made the best case I could that she is not qualified, and she is not. I am not changing my vote; Sen. McCain will get it.
I will flip to parts of the speech while my Phils aren’t batting and i hope Gov. Palin performs as well as everyone in the party seems to think she can. But, no one can ever convince me this was a good choice. Its a bad choice. Its a GREAT thing election are about who is at the top of the ticket.
“But, no one can ever convince me this was a good choice. Its a bad choice. Its a GREAT thing election(s) are about who is at the top of the ticket.”
Shenanigans, consider for a moment that Sarah Palin’s addition to the GOP ticket is the only thing standing between me and a vote for Bob Barr. Oh, and I have two words for you: Angela Merkel.
Quite Frankly, I’d rather you vote for Bob Barr if you are that delusional.
Also, if you think Chancellor Merkel’s record (A PhD in quantum chemistry and a long career in national German politics before being elected) then you are crazy.
But I am done.
Oh, and Nancy Pelosi’s book is ranked down at 29,630 on Amazon.
Long career in German politics? No, Merkel is an Ossi (East German) who had to break into the West German old boys’ club and shake things up in the CDU. That’s what I see in Palin as a plus.
“Those who support her do not argue that she is.”
What? I believe she is fully qualified. If you need to be told a thousand more times all the reasons why, just to go through the motions, I’m not going to waste my time.
She has made decisions, and from everything I’ve read she has made very good ones on a consistent basis.
She is fully qualified, the Elitist BS artist on the left is the one who isn’t.
But wait, Muqtada al Sadr is a community activist. Maybe he and Barry O’Bama can iron out all of these pesky ideological differences?
John:
You argue that Gov. Palin is relatively more qualified as opposed to Sen. Obama who himself wildly unqualified. Big distinction.
The rest point to her family and small town roots.
Gov Palin has no objective record of accomplishment that merits this position but the wingnuts love her because she is a mom and likes guns. I like guns, I like kids; I am not qualified to be VP.
Gov. Palin is affirmative action gone wild.
That’s right, shenanigans.
John, just as I predicted, you have gone off half-cocked and ill informed.
Here, read this, and let me know your response:
http://delawarepolitics.net/2008/09/04/palin-awesome-the-spirit-of-reagan-is-back/#comment-7655