Palin Quits - Those Obsessed With Her Cannot
There is an old saying about opinions. The cleaned up version is that "Everyone has them." The more profane version compares them to a particular part of the human anatomy that everyone also has. Never has the profane version been more appropriate than when it comes to those having opinions about Sarah Palin.
When the Alaska governor first burst onto the scene it made sense that she got a lot of attention. After all she appeared to be the only part of the Republican presidential ticket actually possessing a pulse. What's more she was shockingly non-dull and grey. That kind of departure from expectations was bound to grab a headline or two.
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But I do confess to some bafflement about why everyone continues to feel the need to offer their opinions about someone who almost became vice president last year. I suppose it's possible that some people who don't live there might care a lot about the comings and goings related to the executive branch of the State of Alaska. But is there some reason everyone has to act like that kind of obsessive attention is rational or appropriate?
Yes, at the very moment she's mentioned in most discussions around who may head the Republican Party ticket for the presidency in the 2012 election. But that's three and a half years away. You're more likely to predict the winner of the Superbowl in 2012 than who's going to be the Republican nominee for president this far out. Talking about that now is the province of political wonks like Michael Barone. It's not ordinarily a thing of much relevance to anyone else.
If I had to guess why so many people feel the need to opine so loudly about a political resignation that would ordinarily go unnoticed and unremarked by themselves, it's that so many of the same people engaged in such ridiculous fits of Palin hyperbole during the past presidential campaign they are still attempting to justify it. This is true both on the side of Palin's supporters as well as her detractors. You had people obsessed over John McCain's running mate in a way that applied to no other vice-presidential nominee in American history. It's hard to rationalize the over-the-top sensational treatment of what should have been a campaign side note - let alone make it sound sensible.
With issues like the economy, war, nuclear proliferation, and the reform of the nation's healthcare system clearly at stake and getting scant attention by the press, a staggering amount of coverage was given to the most minute details of John McCain's running mate's life. You had more people voting for and against John McCain's ticket over Palin's previous decision not to abort a child with Down's Syndrome rather than whether or not it's a good idea to socialize the nation's healthcare system. That goes beyond irresponsible into an area approaching insanity. Thus it becomes post-hoc sensible to treat any news related to Sarah Palin as a HUGE deal. I mean if she mattered more than the danger of nuclear war with Iran she must still matter a whole lot, right? I mean... just imagine if she occupied the office Joe Biden does now! The implications would be.... umm... (mumble, mumble)... hey, did you see Sarah Palin went fishing?!
So anyway, my opinion over the announced resignation of Sarah Palin is: Why should I care? Because she may turn up running for some other office I actually care about sometime in the future? I think I'll have plenty of time to catch up on things at that time. I don't really feel the need to keep a running tally.
Far more important, in my opinion, is the disturbing continuation of Palin obsession when by now it should be obvious that there were a few more important aspects to the prior election that were kinda overlooked. Isn't it time to start focusing on those and leave aside the irrational excess of interest in the soon-to-be-ex Alaska governor?
When the Alaska governor first burst onto the scene it made sense that she got a lot of attention. After all she appeared to be the only part of the Republican presidential ticket actually possessing a pulse. What's more she was shockingly non-dull and grey. That kind of departure from expectations was bound to grab a headline or two.
.jpg)
But I do confess to some bafflement about why everyone continues to feel the need to offer their opinions about someone who almost became vice president last year. I suppose it's possible that some people who don't live there might care a lot about the comings and goings related to the executive branch of the State of Alaska. But is there some reason everyone has to act like that kind of obsessive attention is rational or appropriate?
Yes, at the very moment she's mentioned in most discussions around who may head the Republican Party ticket for the presidency in the 2012 election. But that's three and a half years away. You're more likely to predict the winner of the Superbowl in 2012 than who's going to be the Republican nominee for president this far out. Talking about that now is the province of political wonks like Michael Barone. It's not ordinarily a thing of much relevance to anyone else.
If I had to guess why so many people feel the need to opine so loudly about a political resignation that would ordinarily go unnoticed and unremarked by themselves, it's that so many of the same people engaged in such ridiculous fits of Palin hyperbole during the past presidential campaign they are still attempting to justify it. This is true both on the side of Palin's supporters as well as her detractors. You had people obsessed over John McCain's running mate in a way that applied to no other vice-presidential nominee in American history. It's hard to rationalize the over-the-top sensational treatment of what should have been a campaign side note - let alone make it sound sensible.
With issues like the economy, war, nuclear proliferation, and the reform of the nation's healthcare system clearly at stake and getting scant attention by the press, a staggering amount of coverage was given to the most minute details of John McCain's running mate's life. You had more people voting for and against John McCain's ticket over Palin's previous decision not to abort a child with Down's Syndrome rather than whether or not it's a good idea to socialize the nation's healthcare system. That goes beyond irresponsible into an area approaching insanity. Thus it becomes post-hoc sensible to treat any news related to Sarah Palin as a HUGE deal. I mean if she mattered more than the danger of nuclear war with Iran she must still matter a whole lot, right? I mean... just imagine if she occupied the office Joe Biden does now! The implications would be.... umm... (mumble, mumble)... hey, did you see Sarah Palin went fishing?!
So anyway, my opinion over the announced resignation of Sarah Palin is: Why should I care? Because she may turn up running for some other office I actually care about sometime in the future? I think I'll have plenty of time to catch up on things at that time. I don't really feel the need to keep a running tally.
Far more important, in my opinion, is the disturbing continuation of Palin obsession when by now it should be obvious that there were a few more important aspects to the prior election that were kinda overlooked. Isn't it time to start focusing on those and leave aside the irrational excess of interest in the soon-to-be-ex Alaska governor?
Posted by Doug Williams on
Monday July 6, 2009 at 2:00pm
