Palin on Today: Not Goin' Anywhere

There a lot of things one can say about Sarah Palin, but this one cannot be disputed: by one measure, at least, she is true to her word. Sarah Palin is not going anywhere.

That, you'll recall, is what the Alaska governor and former vice presidential candidate told ABC's Elizabeth Vargas on the day before Halloween, "I think that if I were to give up and wave a white flag of surrender against some of the political shots that we've taken, that -- that would bring this whole -- I'm -- I'm not doing this for naught."

When her remarks were widely interpreted as indication of a likely 2012 presidential, she artfully dialed back. The day after the Vargas interview, she told me, "I'll be campaigning for John McCain's re-election in 2012."

That commitment now wiped off the slate by reality's eraser, Palin has set off on a charm offensive that will serve her well should she choose to toss her hat back into the ring of national politics. In this morning's Today show interview with NBC's Matt Lauer, Palin came off as endearingly combative, calling the unnamed leakers quoted in Newsweek "cowards", and cooking a halibut and salmon casserole for Lauer -- while being interviewed.

For the sit-down portion of the interview, which took place in the governor's office, she wore a jacket more reminiscent -- in color, if not cut -- of those she began the campaign with. Her hair was pulled up in a relaxed manner that suggested she did it herself. She denied all the talk about her alleged extravagance in the purchase of her campaign wardrobe, telling Lauer that her campaign duds were being purchased by the Republican National Committee before she ever even arrived in St. Paul for the Republican National Convention. Of Neiman Marcus, the high-end retailer that an unnamed McCain adviser claimed had been "looted" by "Wasilla hillbillies," Palin said, "I've never even been in those stores..."

Far more interesting than her denials, however, was her failure to deny Lauer's suggestion that it was the decision of McCain's people to keep her from the press, and her assertion that she would have liked to talk more to the media (which she once famously derided). "You can't just assume that the voters are going to be able to guess what's going on," she said, and that means talking to the media.

Which she's doing with a vengeance. Literally. Just ask those "cowards" who leaked the allegation about Palin not knowing that Africa is a continent, or that she greeted male campaign staffers while wearing nothing but a towel.

More important, though, than Palin's own self-redemption crusade is the national media's continued interest in her. And who can blame them? Like Barack Obama, Palin is a bundle of contradictions and seeming non sequiturs -- a bundle that represents the tensions in play in the lives of many Americans. In Obama, the tensions of race, culture and the structure of the modern, blended family were all brought into play. In Palin, as Katha Pollitt has sagely written, is the irony of the ambitious and talented woman who embraces a conservative, truly right-wing, worldview. As Lauer interviewed her in her Wasilla kitchen, it may have been the governor herself who made the casserole, but her hunky, blue-collar husband held the baby with utter comfort, patting him nonchalantly as if this is something he does every day (because it is).

I've heard liberals say that Palin's the one they want their president to face in 2012. And given her performance with Katie Couric and Charlie Gibson, I can understand why.

But Sarah Palin is not stupid. She's no Barack Obama, but she's not dumb. Needs a little schooling, but I suspect she's a quick study. And who knows what the president-elect will face in the next four years? Absent a credible ideology on the real problems facing America -- the economy, international relations, health care -- the Republicans have little left to run on but the culture wars. While that may seem so yesterday, the passage of anti-gay ballot measures in a handful of states on Tuesday proves the wars have not yet ended. And Sarah Palin could prove to be a great warrior icon -- Alaska's own Athena, goddess of hearth and war.

In the Wasilla segment of Lauer's interview, the adorable grade-schooler, Piper Palin, was asked how she would feel if, when she's 11 years old in 2012, her mom came to her and said, we're going run again. (Lauer was not specific as to which office.) Piper turned up her palms and said, with a little laugh, "I don't know."

Her mom didn't miss a beat. "Would you want to do it again, sister?" asked Sarah Palin as she stirred the casserole.

Piper suddenly knew the right answer. "Yeah," she replied.

After all, she hadn't done it for naught.

Follow Adele Stan on Twitter: www.twitter.com/addiestan

Comments

[twogunmojo]

maybe the palin haters here should read camille paglias latest article on sarah palin..it seems she has a few lingering doubts about obama..and ayers..and she makes the point about how was john edwards qualified when he was picked to be v.p..and where is ole john these days..

[darlingdem]

Sarah Palin is the proverbial trainwreck­...and people can't look away.

Clearly, this woman does NOT have the intellect to be President. After eight years of W, it appears that the majority of Americans now demand more of their President that being someone you would like to have a beer with. The Couric interview was all the proof any thinking person needed to know that Palin is not of presidential timber. She often doesn't make sense when she speaks...o­r comes off sounding like some ditzy teenager. (Being able to read a teleprompter or recite a few talking points does not a president make...)

But what really bothers me about Palin is this: she said terrible things about Obama...an­d seemed to really ENJOY doing so. Whether she and McCain admit it or not, she was stoking anger in some of those crowds. I don't believe that Palin didn't hear the horrible things that were being shouted about Obama at her rallies. Congressman Lewis was right to try to put a stop to their dangerous behavior by calling them out on their fearmongering.

Now Palin is whining about the bad things that people are saying about her...call­ing them "mean spirited." Well it's NOTHING compared to what she said about Obama. Clearly, the irony is lost on this self-indulgent lightweight.

Palin totally earned the high unfavorable rating that she now has. A majority of Americans, including numerous Republicans, think she's a joke.

[mamak]

Complete agreement with you.

[suzukimom]

Is it really possible to study up for the presidency? If Sarah Palin has not exhibited the intellectual curiosity that would have provided some breadth and depth of understanding of the world by this point in her life, is it really possible for her to get that in a few years? I don't think so. I think that intellectual rigor that the office demands is not something you can cram for. She may be an engaging personality, but Palin has proven that she is as unqualified for the presidency today as she will be tomorrow.

[2876]

What she needs to do is go away!!

[kassandranobody]

- Alaska's own Athena, goddess of hearth and war.

if you want to compare her to a goddess - please don't compare her to the goddess of the hunt she would never kill animals for fun

if anyone she is KALI, but KALI is too good for her also

she is just a crazy,(chosen by god? right), greedy (what woman wouldn't want free clothes?)
grasping monster

maybe a demon???

[alexandrovich]

Or she is George Bush in drag.
She is delusional, self-important and cannot speak well. It has to be about her all the time
or she is not interested. She loves the attention and is not savvy enough to realize that for the present the focus is on Obama not her. He won, she lost, in case she needs to be reminded.
Funny how now she is all over the 'liberal elite' media she mocked a couple of weeks ago.
Let's hope she will be an odd and amusing footnote by 2012.
This ode to Palin (a goddess? ha) reeks of partisanship too.

[TongoRad]

"Like Barack Obama, Palin is a bundle of contradictions and seeming non sequiturs -- a bundle that represents the tensions in play in the lives of many Americans. In Obama, the tensions of race, culture and the structure of the modern, blended family were all brought into play."

Another false equivalency/analogy that seems to be taken from the Republican playbook. Disappointing.

What exactly does Palin represent? I wish we could have a serious examination of her instead of these puff pieces and novelty interviews. By my count Katie Couric remains the only journalist ot hold her accountable. Shameful, and scary.

[mscriblerus]

I agree. What bundle of contradictions? Tensions of race? A very specific subset of voters experienced "tension" regarding race but that has nothing to do with Obama. As Palin takes her seat in the media star chamber to have her sentence rescinded, I can already see Palin 2.0 shaping up.

[Hope not Hate]

I agree. There is no comparison between the respectful fascination with Obama's widely-lauded temperament, judgment, and nobility, and the car wreck like fascination with Palin's hypocrisy, lunacy and idiocy.

Also, Palin is NOT a quick study. Period. The woman STILL does not understand that there is no country called "Africa": Ms. Palin spoke to reporters from several news organizations, including the Anchorage Daily News, defending herself from a slew of criticisms that have been aimed at her from unnamed McCain aides ever since the McCain-Palin ticket was defeated Tuesday.
“If there are allegations based on questions or comments I made in debate prep about Nafta — about the continent versus the country when we talk about Africa there — then those were taken out of context. And that’s cruel, it’s mean-spirited, it’s immature, it’s unprofessional and those guys are jerks if they came away with it taking things out of context, then tried to spread something on national news,” Ms. Palin said.

[TRYKER]

it"s mean-spirited, it"s immature, it"s unprofessional and those guys are jerks..."

That was exactly Sarah, when she spoke about Obama...ri­ght from the start she basked in her ability, no doubt innate, to smear, slander and insult like a teen-ager in the locker room.
She was especially high when she decried the very idea of giving everyone the rights of habeas corpus. Imagine! As if those brown people anywhere would be equal to republican white.
It took her 2 hours to put together hot dogs with cheese, I couldn't stand it, it was like her speeches, on and on and on and in the end, all you have is some hot dogs. Even a 6 yr old can make a hot dog and put together a sentence with more meaning than Sarah's.
No, studying will not equip her for a 2012 run...and after this week's repub gov's gathering, she went home without a single chairmanship or assignment to any position in the party. Methinks Ms Palin will be quiet for a while now.

[gintheb]

If Barack handles his business properly, which I'm sure he will, Sarah Palin will be a moot point in 2012.

[katielady]

so, what happened to the wink,?????­??????????­? the 'you betchas' ????????and "I'm like every Joe 6pack out there"??????????

She is as transparent as rain!!!!!!!!!!!!. and anytime there is a criticism, it isn't her fault, ever! !!!!!!!!!!

No, she isn't stupid, neither could she, in a million light years, be described as an intellectual. She is however, aggressively ruthless, self-promoting and untruthful. like so many who declare themselves people with family values!!!!!

And I didn't use any Joe Scarborough words, either...

[franksters]

She is one big fat mother effin liar! She knows darn well that she went shopping for those clothes. You know how I can tell? Those clothes fit her to the "T", which means she tried them on and/or was fitted. She's so full of bullsh*t..­...there is light at the end of the tunnel....­the media will soon realize that Palin is no longer interesting and poof! Away she goes.

[Sock]

The GOP is stringing her along so they can dump her before she can form a viable 3rd party candidacy and ruin the GOP's future.

[sawbuck]

By 2012 the country will be so over Palin that she'll be lucky to get a spot on Fox with Hannity. After Obama sets the course for the future on stem cell research, re-regulation of corporate crooks who feed off the public trough, bringing jobs back to america with tax incentives, and talking to americans like an adult instead of fake andy griffith simplicity, the Bush years will become an increasing embarrassment that america will seek to get over.

The trend is toward liberalism. Younger voters coming up do not identify with the politics of reagan, dubya, and sarah palin. The internet works against her. Attitudes in the south are changing and red states are turning blue after losing their jobs and houses to republican bull$hit. Time will work against her, as it did in the campaign. The longer this fish is out, the more it stinks. Stick to the casseroles, honey. Leave government to the adults. Your 15 minutes is up.

[bergamot1]

Hallelujah sawbuck!

[Snow97]

"But Sarah Palin is not stupid. She's no Barack Obama, but she's not dumb. Needs a little schooling, but I suspect she's a quick study."

Quick study, huh? It's laughable that some commentators STILL confuse the qualifications for Presidency of the United States -- besieged by economic woes at home and mounting threats from extremists abroad -- with qualifications for a spelling bee.

You know what, Sarah, sister? Memorizing nasty things to say about somebody ain't gonna' cut it. The world doesn't stand still for you to check your 3" x 5" flashcards for names to drop or trite slogans to chant. It IS Baracket Science, and you'll never be quick enough a study to fill his shoes. Stay where you can fool all of the people all of the time and leave the rest of our country alone.

[Adele Stan - Huffpost Blogger]

I'm not saying she's qualified to be president (though perhaps no less so than George Bush). I'm saying she's probably smart enough to run a viable campaign next time out. And, for that reason alone, liberals had best be careful what we wish for.

[CaptainStormfield]

I agree absolutely. All Bush had to do was show up and send dog whistle messages to the Evangelicals and his other constituencies. His handlers took care of everything else. I saw her and Bush in much the same light, Palin was fronted up by the church and Constitution Party/AIP in Alaska. She was smart enough to get appointed to the Alaska Oil and Gas Conservation Commission and then use that platform to win the Governors seat, stabbing the former Governor in the back.
She is hugely ambitious and loves the spotlight. Nothing like rousing up 5000 screaming
wingnuts to boost your ego.
Thanks for another great article :)

[EducatedObserver]

How refreshing it is to read a balanced analysis on Huffington - congratulations, Miss Stan!

One is at the very least, slightly puzzled by the hysteria which seems to follow Mrs Palin's appearances. The woman is obviously smart, if a tad inarticulate and virginal in her worldview.­. Given time, and the right circumstances, I have no doubt that she could become a formidable presidential candidate.

Might I suggest to those who contemplate taking the road of intellectual snobbery - this is one of the worst ways to get people on your side.

[realityczech4u]

Gulo, when I went to vote, I was conflicted. I first pushed the button for Obama (we have modern electronic voting machines in suburban Philadelphia PA). Upon second thought, I changed my vote to McCain ( I had ,and still to some degree ,have questions about Obama's dubious past associations that have not been answered to my satisfaction. Questions that speak to what his internal worldview actually is) After a few more moments reflection, the image of Sarah Palin flashed into my mind. After that, the decision was a no-brainer. I could never take myself seriously again had I voted for a package that included her. Basically, though it was but a split-second image that flashed into my mind, it encompassed all the characteristics that you so astutely lay out. Were I to caption it, it would be "You've gotta be kidding." Bush has made the Presidency into a tragedy. I could not in good conscience risk turning it into a joke.

[ed alexander]

Please do not judge Alaskans by Sarah Palin! A lot of people only voted for her because she wasn't Frank Murkowski, or any of the other obviously corrupt choices we had at the time.

A lot of Alaskans are embarrassed and mortified by Palin's hideous comments about Barack Obama, and her representation of our state. I know quite a few people who would like to see her impeached for her violation of state ethics law...

[NathaninSeattle]

Should we judge on Stevens, or Young?? Which of these people fit into the "obviously corrupt choices" that you mention? I'm honestly curious at how many times I've heard this from AK commenters in the past week, not to judge AK citizens on Palin, but seemingly by re-electing both Stevens and Young all I can wonder is, "if it walks like a duck..."

[Hope not Hate]

It's pretty clear if that Alaskans Diebold machine votes have been manipulated, so I don't think it is correct to assume Alaskans voted for Stevens or Young.

One benefit of having Sarah Palin thrust onto the national stage is that those of us in the lower 48 are now aware of how corrupt Alaska politics are and can help bring monsters like Palin down. Indeed, supporting Alaskans' efforts to hold her accountable may be the best protection against having her pursue a national office in the future.

One great blog keeping a close eye on her is The Mudflats: http://mudflats.wordpress.com/

[IncensedinNC]

I'd like to see an Alaskan ask her a tough question; there must be so many she hasn't yet answered. She's being interviewed tomorrow on CNN and they're inviting video questions here:
http://www.ireport.com/index.jspa

[Snow97]

More power to you! I can only imagine -- in nightmares -- what it must be like to be stuck with this sort of leader 24/7.

[tm68]

I hear you fellow Alaskan. Count me as one of the embarrassed. I am curious to know how the other ethics complaint is going- the one about the travel $ for the family. She's saying its legit- is it still being investigated? Is her house up for investigation? From what is known, it's basically the same issues Stevens was just convicted for. "Friends" built their house? Hmmmm

[2876]

Palin should just stay in Alaska.

[twogunmojo]

you do realize that there are only 3 qualifications needed to be president.­.born in the u.s..lived here for 14 years..and be 35 years of age..thats it..there is no iq test..no geography test..no spelling test..i guess you anti-palin people wear your clothes in the shower just in case someone interrupts you while bathing..w­hat if she picks someone like condi rice but with a personality to be her running mate..two women..one black..one white..may­be she picks a black lesbian to be on the ticket with her..i would love to see the old white liberal press bash a gay black woman for answering the door in a towel..

[2876]

I guess you like your presidents and vice presidents to be as ignorant and dumb as you. Why don't you, the trolls, and the Palins go form your own country? Then you can elect all the dummies in the world to be your leaders.

[Shieldmaiden]

So as long as the candidate has those "qualifications" their lack of depth, knowledge, and intellect would not prove to be a problem for you? I am a black woman and I do not care about the race or gender of a candidate. If they have no business in the White House, I will NOT vote for them. Sarah Palin has no business being anywhere near Washington. Period.

[Economike]

Let's hope she does run.

[11907281]

My god, you guys made up the idea that Obama supporters worshiped him and thought he was the messiah, but you Palin Lovers are the real worshipers. Who cares if she was in a towel or what not, she's not fit to teach first grade and without the first dude she wouldn't be able to get away with the bare minimum she does now. Why wouldn't you want to elect a woman who will inspire young girls instead the political version of "rose" from The golden Girls.