Spotlight’s glare too harsh for Palin

The recent announcement by Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin that she would resign her office in the middle of her first term is understandable. Palin is a shining example, carried to its sadly logical conclusion, of a society that values self-esteem more than genuine worth.

Losing is discouraged, because losing supposedly damages one’s self-worth. We elect and revere people who look good in front of cameras, even if they have absolutely nothing to say. We encourage our children to avoid games that focus on an individual’s abilities or lack thereof. We tell our kids “you’re special” as we hand them a trophy for simply showing up to play. When they finally face the real world, they find a completely different, and very harsh, reality.

In the end, Palin has manifested this sickness as she carries on, blissfully unaware of her own inadequacies. She had already achieved a position as governor far beyond her real capabilities, and the national spotlight, harsh as it is, was simply too unflattering for someone who has always gotten by on her telegenic, homespun demeanor.

Bud Simpson
Kansas City

Comments

[Arminius]

Palin-bashing: The new refuge of the effeminate, liberal male.

[Jazz-Man]

I don’t know just blindly throwing things out there. I just cant figure out what else she could do that’s going to build her case to run. Could surprise everyone!

[jeanette]

Jazz-Man, how can you come to any conclusions about what she's going to be doing? Unless you know something no one else does.

[Jazz-Man]

Maybe she could be, she also may damage herself even more by then, she wont be in politics so the only thing she will be doing is writing books and hunting. Need to do a little more than that to stay in the limelight.

[jeanette]

Why is everyone so sure she couldn't be ready to run by 2012 or 2016?

[Jazz-Man]

I would quit to if I can make million writing books and what I see in Russia!

[EL]

Palin is not the issue now, Obama is.
2012 is a long way off. We have better things to worry about than why she quit as governor.

[Jim]

Careful, Jazz Man. The Palinbots will be saying you're full of "hate" and trying to "destroy" Palin because you're oh so terrified of her. Don't you know? That's the only reason anyone could have a less than adoring view of The One.

[Jazz-Man]

So what she ran a state, does that make her qualified? NO, everyone wants to bring Obama back up but the issue is he’s President and she’s not. So Obama’s going to get his in 2012 but right now we need to be trying to find the best candidate and Palin isn’t the one. Your only argument is she’s better than Obama, she has more experience. That’s didn’t help her before and isn’t going to do anything for her now. At this point since you want to bring Obama into it when you have nothing else to say; Obama has more experience than her now lol. You people are funny.

[Gary]

The second and third paragraphs are apt descriptions of Barack Obama.

[Kee]

http://users.skynet.be/pdauwe/ursula_martinez.wmv

[balingwire]

I'd love to see Palin run in 2012.

[Kee]

Oh Please Jazzy she has ran a state! Jomama hasn't ran anything until now, and he is currently running the Nation into the ground.

Maybe you like No Go Joe Gaffer Biden better!?

LMAO....

[Jazz-Man]

Its not hating Kee its facts. She cute, she a normal person but I wouldn’t want her running the country. First of all her and her husband reminds me of Mayor Funky and his wife with role reversal.

[Kee]

Love the Palin trashers, they are scared to death of this woman. It is fun to watch. They just can't help themselves. They are the same ones who said,

"I mean like, he is for hope, and like, change. I mean, you know, he is for the future, because the past is so like, you know, yesterday. And I mean, like, Carly, is so right he is so presidential material and so totally like, cool you know? Yes we know he has never ran anything at all, not even like an ice cream stand, but like he is so-o-o-o cool, yon know?"

Thus the nation has about achieved bankruptcy, and third world status in six months! Nobody but Jomama could have achieved that!

[carly]

Palin is not and has never been presidential material. She caters to the lowest common denominator. There are several interesting related posts at http://iamsoannoyed.com/?page_id=588

[JoCo]

We elect people who look GOOD in front of cameras. Have you seen some of those onions on C-Span? When they pan the congressional gallery, it looks like a field of cotton or, more so lately--mushrooms.

Tell ya another thing; anyone that thinks Sarah Palin doesn't have some, or a lot of, "IT", you can quit watching, but I wouldn't.

[JoCo]

Contrare, Bud. Sarah Palin is mega-charismatic. If that's down-home comin' thru
to you, I agree it's there, too. But, I see a self-confidence, maybe best kept apart from the Republican party, slammin home a wedge at least and possibly rallying a sizeable minority. Win? Who knows?

Also, I don't see anything except some subjective tinge, that makes self-esteem such a terrible alternative to "genuine worth": "....society values (sic, wrongly) self-esteem over genuine worth. Self-esteem may even be prerequisite to genuine worth.

If Sarah Palin DOES choose to mount a campaign, she's been on the bill before, but never unrestrained. For one, I'd like to know what it is SHE would do. Let's watch her in her own time, and hear what this person has to say and see how she conducts her life. But until she speaks, everything is just storytelling, one way or the other.