Jessica

Vozel

Read Jessica's bio and previous columns here

July 6, 2009

Sarah Palin: Deliberately or Accidentally Incoherent?

Not to be upstaged by a disconcerting string of celebrity deaths these last couple weeks, the celebrity formerly known as Governor Sarah Palin made a rather befuddling announcement on Friday: She is stepping down as Alaska’s governor, in order to better “build up and fight for our state and our country.”

In a speech that is either deliberately or accidentally incoherent and dizzying to decipher, Sarah Palin cited the sweeping changes her administration has rendered for Alaska, took a few jabs at the way our country is currently being run (“obscene[ly]” and immoral[ly] – terms straight out of an abstinence-only sex ed class), said some stuff about family values and decried – again – the ways in which the media and those pesky ethics mongers are out to get her. Then, somewhere in the middle of all that, she announced that she would not be seeking re-election, and, in fact, would be stepping down from the governorship entirely, effective in three weeks.

Central to her reasoning for resigning, it seems, is that she wants to get out there (meaning, presumably, get down to the Lower 48) and campaign for the Republican Party, restoring America to all its rightful conservative glory. And she doesn’t feel that Alaska should be paying her to do so. She also managed to squeeze in two wildlife metaphors as she spoke to the press from her lakefront backyard, to describe what she doesn’t want to be: A “lame duck” or a “dead fish.” What she wants to be is a point guard, with her eye on the prize. Or something like that.

Palin talked a lot about how much she loves Alaska, how serving them was the “greatest honor (she) could imagine.” So great, in fact, that she must do the noble thing and put that honor into Lieutenant Gov. Sean Parnell’s hands. It’s not because she’s not capable of running Alaska the way that the state deserves – no, she made it quite clear earlier in her speech that she was the best thing to happen to Alaska since William Seward – it’s that she has bigger things planned that, while not more honorable than her current position, mind you, are more important.

Rumors originating from “inside sources” suggest that Palin is done with politics and will instead focus on high-paying speaking engagements and book deals. That would be a good move for her. Sarah Palin is an interesting public figure, but a terrible politician. Every politician tells strategic untruths, but rare is a politician who is so obvious about it. Sarah Palin seems to want to be an enigma, but everything she says reads as disingenuous because her actions paint a completely different picture.

She hates the media, but enlisted them to facilitate her rant against David Letterman (and much of the media, myself included, defended her). She sees no greater honor than serving Alaska, but yet she is pulled by the “higher calling” of fixing the country that the new liberal government has ruined. She boasts her “ethics reforms” but gets huffy when her own ethics are investigated because, obviously, she’s done nothing wrong. That’s not enigmatic – that’s hypocritical.

Hopefully, the age of Obama has ushered in a set of new expectations for politicians. Namely honesty, forthrightness and speeches that make sense. From here, it seems Palin has ended her short-lived career as a political leader, but unlike with the celebrities we’ve recently lost, we’ve certainly not seen the last of Sarah Palin.

© 2009 North Star Writers Group. May not be republished without permission.

Click here to talk to our writers and editors about this column and others in our discussion forum.

To e-mail feedback about this column, click here. If you enjoy this writer's work, please contact your local newspapers editors and ask them to carry it.

This is Column # JV096. Request permission to publish here.