Making Sense of Sarah, Part I

On August 29th, John McCain selected Alaska Governor Sarah Palin as his running mate in his quest for the presidency in 2008. This choice accomplished a few things: it invigorated many Republicans who had not yet warmed to the idea of a McCain presidency, it was a strong symbolic statement that McCain was willing to think outside the box and look into the future, and most importantly and urgently for McCain, it altered the narrative of the race – in his favor, at least for the time being.

The two weeks since McCain made his choice has been the most interesting episode in American politics that I’ve observed. In some respects, it’s been one of the most horrifying, with the nadir being the tasteless smear whose flame was fanned by none other than my favorite blogger, Andrew Sullivan. I’ve been trying to make sense of the Sarah Palin phenomenon, and this post is the result of my musings on the matter. Let’s be clear: I am not a fan. She’s not playing on my team this year. However, my concerns run a bit deeper than mere partisan preference. In the last two weeks, the nation has glimpsed a fascinating political character who by dint of a killer convention speech, and an iconic and sympathetic life story, has become extremely popular. She has reached an Obama-like level of celebrity while striving to be the anti-Obama: perfectly familiar, everyone’s favorite neighborhood mom, down to earth, relatable, savvy, and neighborly. The McCain campaign is working to maintain this perception of her, as they believe it will place them on the royal road to victory. So far, it seems to be working.

And yet, Palin, McCain, and their surrogates asked us to acknowledge her record: she was a small town mayor and is governor of a very unique and challenging state. In contrast to any of the other candidates in the race, including her running mate, she alone can point to years of executive experience. They asked, and I will oblige. I have paid particular attention to her record both as mayor of Wasilla and as governor of Alaska, and a number of things I see are troubling. In addition, the last two weeks have elicited aspects of her character as a public official that are disturbing. Finally, there is the question as to her readiness to be only a heartbeat away from the presidency. I will attempt to address each of these issues, but first things first: to make sense of Sarah requires acknowledgement of her role as a devoted mother: as the keystone of her story and her public persona, this explains why so much of the Republican rank-and-file responded so rapturously to her campaign.