We are watching the evolution of a political giant the likes we have not seen since Ronald Reagan. While Barack Obama the candidate appeared to be the coming of the next great American leader, his presidency is quickly dispelling those notions. It is actually the woman with tears in her eyes as she watched John McCain give his concession speech who has been greatness among us for the longest time. Fire has replaced those tears in her eyes and she is on offense now as she goes after the man who tried to destroy her politically in 2008. She knows it is not just her he was trying to destroy, but the nation which he claims to serve. She's come to help us take it back.
Liberals are waking up to that fact. The silly attacks no longer stick. The media is even waking up. In an article for National Journal Magazine, Paul Starobin warned readers (particularly liberal ones) to not get caught up in the she's dumb meme or the caricatures.
Evidently, there is something about Palin that drives her critics crazy. But if they can pause for breath, they might take a lesson from history as to the wisdom of mocking a political figure for a supposed lack of intelligence. The caricature of Eisenhower as Donald Duck did not stop him from twice defeating, in Electoral College landslides, the cerebral Adlai Stevenson, the darling of the intellectual crowd. The Georgetown set's view of Reagan as "an amiable dunce" did not keep voters from giving the Gipper landslide wins over Jimmy Carter, a nuclear engineer known for his propensity to micromanage, in 1980, and Walter Mondale in 1984. And Bush won re-election over John Kerry in 2004 despite being pilloried as Cheney's puppet.He goes on to say "Palin's critics would be wise to marshal the best assault they can on the basis of her convictions -- on the substance of her vision of America and her policies for fulfilling that vision."
The conservative strategy could be paying off. By defeating the liberals on their own board at their own game, they are being forced to come back into the arena of ideas where mature politicos can conduct their policy debates civilly yet vigorously. This is how democracy is supposed to work. When the electorate hears the debate of ideas instead of the mocking of people or the misinforming of them, our country is stronger for it.
Palin spoke in depth today on the nuclear issue, the energy issue, the Iran issue and the Israeli issue. There can be no doubt that despite a few notes on her hand and a couple of folksy anecdotes, this woman was there to talk substance. Palin knows her stuff and no wet behind the ears community organizer playing president is going to tell her any differently.
There are those who will read this and figure I'll spill the kool aid all over the keyboard before I'm done. But, don't take it from just me. Look at it. This is not about a blogger that is gushing over Sarah Palin. This is about a woman who has electrified the political arena. This is about watching the evolution of our next great American leader. If you are an intellectually honest fan of American politics regardless of your ideology, you should find the next two years very very interesting.
Obama was just a flash in the pan. He was a one hit wonder who sold millions on a stump speech that was filled with hope, emotion and a vision he was unwilling to carry out once he got into office.
Sarah Palin is the real deal. Keep watching. The movie gets much better than this.
More on her speech:
Sarah Palin's Keynote At the Southern Republican Leadership Conference
SRLC Open Thread
Welcome to the Party Pal
Sarah Palin Rocks New Orleans!
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