Sarah Palin’s book tour is sweeping across the nation. Thousands of Tea Baggers are enduring long lines and inclement weather for a chance to see their new heroine and get her signature on the book that was ghost written for her. However, not all of these appearances are going as planned. In Indiana, Palin left her supporters in the lurch. People who had purchased books and were issued wristbands assuring them a signature, ended up booing her and protesting as she departed. They should not have been surprised. One thing Palin is known for is quitting before her job is done.
—
This just in: Palin apologizes to Indiana fans:
I’ve been told that yesterday there were supporters in Noblesville who stood in long lines for hours in the cold and rain, and the book signing event ended without a chance to say hello to everyone who showed up. I am so sorry. We are working on a solution for those who were left behind. I apologize.
A solution for those left behind? I thought they were doomed.
—
The cover of Palin’s book says more about her than the 400 pages inside. The decision to title it “Going Rogue” could not be more revealing. First of all, let’s take a look at what “rogue” means:
- A dishonest, knavish person; scoundrel.
- A playfully mischievous person; scamp: The youngest boys are little rogues.
- A tramp or vagabond.
Furthermore, the colloquially meaning of “going rogue” usually refers to an animal (elephant; GOP?) with an abnormally savage or unpredictable disposition. It may also refer to a person who is uncontrollable or out of the mainstream. Are these really the sort of positive representations that Palin intended?
It is also notable that the subtitle of her book is no more original on her part than the ghost written talking points and fabrications in the interior. I found fifteen other books subtitled “An American Life.”
This is an interesting congregation: Ben Franklin, Oral Roberts, Ronald Reagan, D.W. Griffith, Burt Lancaster, Martha Washington, Joe Papp, Andrew Mellon, Jeb Magruder, Condoleezza Rice, Sinclair Lewis, Jesse Owens, Ben Hogan, Daniel Boone, and (Friend Of The Devil) Jerry Garcia.
In that company, Palin seems a slight bit diminished. How exactly does serving half a term as governor and deep-sixing a presidential campaign translate into American icon status? For good or ill, everyone else listed above has undertaken something for which they will be remembered. I still can’t think of anything Palin has done that would be worth recalling – except for her contribution to the career of Tina Fey and other comedians. For that reason alone I am fervently hoping she runs in 2012, and taps Glenn Beck or Michael Steele as her number two.
Mark, you do know she won’t run, don’t you? She won’t run because she knows she can’t win. Delusional, self-absorbed, and oblivious as she is, as the time approaches even she will realize that she can’t win without making concessions – not only politically, but from a publicity standpoint – while dissing her fans is no way to build the base, much less sustain it. Palin will not allow herself to run in a race in which she doesn’t believe she’ll prevail, nor will her personality – her psyche – permit making those concessions, becoming less extreme, honoring the fan club, in order to up the odds, which is too bad from our perspective but, in my opinion, also a relief. She may be – and is – hilarious, but she’s also more obnoxious and revolting a spectacle than she is a comedy act. At least to me.
I disagree. I think she has convinced herself that she is the people’s voice and that she can be the leader the Tea Bagger movement. I think that her handlers are affirming that and telling her what she wants to hear. She is on a mission from God.
Now that doesn’t mean that she will ultimately run, but I do believe that she considers it a realistic possibility. It also doesn’t mean that, if she runs, she would run as a Republican.
Whwn you are dealing with a delusional personality like this, rule nothing out. She and her supporters have a mission that transcends rational speculation. They may be more focused on their crusade than they are on winning.