[Vision2020] Curious

[Ted Moffett]

Palin is an example of the "curious" phenomenon referred to by the phrase
"cult of personality."  Image matters more than substance regarding the
popularity of many celebrities, or politicians.  Obama has been demeaned by
calling him a celebrity, with a political attack add from the McCain camp
featuring Paris Hilton, while it appears that Palin is more an expression of
celebrity fever, given the substance behind her hyped image.  Politicians
are marketed to the public by sophisticated Madison Avenue advertising
tactics, and the image projected by the candidate is what sells the product.

Can you imagine Palin as editor of the Harvard Law Review, graduating magna
cum laude, then later teaching law at the University of Chicago law school?
Obama has more intellectual substance than Palin ever will, but similar to
W. Bush, her image appeals to many, while Obama's intellectual
accomplishments are sometimes viewed with disdain, by many who think of him
as a liberal academic elitist, who looks down on people.

One political analyst commented that there were three main aspects of W.
Bush's image that had appeal for voters: cowboy machoism, evangelical
fundamentalist Christianity, and anti-intellectualism.  All three of these
qualities are part of Palin's image.  I think there is little doubt that
Palin was carefully chosen to appeal to NRA voters, fundamentalist Christian
voters, who were less attracted to McCain than to W. Bush, and in this
political cycle of disgruntled Hilary Clinton fans, who so much wanted to
see a woman in the White House, Clinton voters.  Polls show about 20 percent
of Clinton voters will vote for McCain/Palin, despite the fact that Clinton
and Palin are nearly political opposites.

Palin has an engaging and attractive presence; a speaking style that is
direct, simple, with a tone that suggests she speaks for the average working
Jane or Joe.  Obama has to work at projecting this sort of image.  I think
sometimes it is a bit glaring that he is trying to dumb down his thinking to
appeal to a less educated public.  Palin and McCain come across as more
"authentic" to many voters than Obama does.

And poor Joe Biden, who I think was chosen by the Obama camp in part because
be might appeal more to the average working class Jane or Joe than
Obama... Palin is overshadowing Biden in terms of sheer volume of hyped up
media coverage, with much of this media attention amounting to free
political advertising for the McCain/Palin ticket!

Anyway, consider the list below that I pulled off the Internet (I can't
vouch for the accuracy of all the information) regarding more qualified
Republican women than Palin:
-------------------------
 Republican women that are better qualified than Sarah Palin.

1. Christie Todd Whitman (R-New Jersey)- Worked in the Nixon administration.
Served as President of the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities in the
cabinet of Gov. Thomas Kean. Former governor of New Jersey. Former
Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency.

2. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-Texas)- Served in the Texas House of
Representatives. Served as vice-chairman of the National Transportation
Safety Board. Served as Texas State Treasurer. Currently serving as Ranking
Member of the U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and
Transportation. She also serves on the Appropriations Committee, the Senate
Committee on Rules and Administration, and the Senate Committee on Veterans'
Affairs.

3. Sen. Olympia Snowe (R-Maine)- Served as an aide to Senator William Cohen.
Served in the Maine House of Representatives and Senate and as a U.S.
Representative. Currently serves as Ranking Member of the Senate Committee
on Small Business and Entrepreneurship. She also serves on the Senate
Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, the Senate Committee on
Finance, and the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence.

4. Sen. Elizabeth Dole (R-North Carolina)- Worked in LBJ's administration.
Served as Deputy Assistant to President Nixon for Consumer Affairs before
being appointed to the Federal Trade Commission. Served as United States
Secretary of Transportation in the Reagan administration. Served as United
States Secretary of Labor in the Poppy Bush administration. Then served as
President of the Red Cross. Ran for president in 2000, and was elected to
the U.S. Senate in 2002. She currently serves on the Senate Special
Committee on Aging, the Senate Committee on Armed Services, Senate Committee
on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs, and the Senate Committee on Small
Business and Entrepreneurship. She is the Ranking Member on the Armed
Services Subcommittee on Emerging Threats and Capabilities.

5. Sen. Susan Collins (R- Maine)- Served as an aide to Sen. William Cohen.
Served as chair of the Maine commission on financial regulation. Served as
New England regional director of the National Small Business Administration.
Formerly the chair and currently the Ranking Member on the Senate Committee
on Homeland Security & Governmental Affairs. Also serves on the Senate
Special Committee on Aging, and the Senate Committee on Armed Services.

6. Gov. Jodi Rell (R-Connecticut)- Served as a Connecticut State
Representative. Served as Lieutenant Governor. Has been serving as Governor
since 2004.

7. Gov. Linda Lingle (R-Hawaii)- Served in Hawaii House of Representatives.
Has been serving as Governor since 2002.

8. Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-Washington)- Served as a State
Representative. Currently serves on the House Committee on Armed Services
and the House Committee on Education and Labor, and the House Committee on
Natural Resources. She is Ranking Member of the Natural Resources
Subcommittee on Water and Power.

------------------------

Vision2020 Post: Ted Moffett

On 9/14/08, Saundra Lund <sslund_2007 at verizon.net> wrote:

> I'm wondering why it is that people who know *far* less about Palin's
> qualifications and political history were so quick to hop on the Palin
> train
> while her close friends (they jokingly refer to themselves as the "Elite
> Six," which includes Palin) are still undecided?
> http://abcnews.go.com/Video/playerIndex?id=5755435
>
> I find that very curious -- *not* that Palin has intelligent friends who
> will decide how to vote based on the *issues,* but rather that so many who
> know far less about her political history were quickly willing to decide
> she's the best thing for this country since sliced bread.
>
> Of course, as more is learned about Palin's history, some of those
> initially
> swept up in the Palin wave are regretting their initial haste -- a friend
> who was initially thrilled with McCain's choice of Palin forwarded me this
> article with a note of regret about his premature enthusiasm.  He doesn't
> see how swapping one good ol' boy network for another is what this country
> needs:
>
> http://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/14/us/politics/14palin.html?pagewanted=1&_r=1
> &th&emc=th
> OR
> http://tinyurl.com/5tq6t
>
> "WASILLA, Alaska — Gov. Sarah Palin lives by the maxim that all politics is
> local, not to mention personal.
>
> So when there was a vacancy at the top of the State Division of
> Agriculture,
> she appointed a high school classmate, Franci Havemeister, to the
> $95,000-a-year directorship. A former real estate agent, Ms. Havemeister
> cited her childhood love of cows as a qualification for running the roughly
> $2 million agency.
>
> Ms. Havemeister was one of at least five schoolmates Ms. Palin hired, often
> at salaries far exceeding their private sector wages.
>
> <snip>"
>
> Note particularly the bipartisan concerns.
>
>
>
> Saundra Lund
> Moscow, ID
>
> The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good people to do
> nothing.
> ~ Edmund Burke
>
> ***** Original material contained herein is Copyright 2008 through life
> plus
> 70 years, Saundra Lund.  Do not copy, forward, excerpt, or reproduce
> outside
> the Vision 2020 forum without the express written permission of the
> author.*****
>
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