COMMENT POSTED TO AN ARTICLE IN THE GUARDIAN
I don't know about Sarah Palin’s "soul," whatever
that is, and I very much doubt anyone else does either.
But I do know she is a perfect example of a person almost
exploding with ambition and having almost no talents beyond a pretty smile.
Her entire career is an example of someone completely
ignoring the wise and ancient words, “Know thyself.”
First, she is genuinely stupid. It took her 6 years at 5
different institutions to finally get a BA in a vacuous subject like
"communications."
This says a lot because anyone who knows American
post-secondary education knows there are thousands of marginal colleges which
award BAs pretty much just for attending and paying your fees.
She lacks the most basic qualities of application and
perseverance, having resigned half way into what is certainly the simplest
executive government job in America, the governorship of thinly-populated
Alaska.
She was also involved in minor corruption in Alaska.
She did some incredibly stupid and embarrassing things as
John McCain's running mate.
Most notably, the Republicans gave her a generous line of
credit to keep her wardrobe up for the campaign. This woman grossly overcharged
the account, buying clothes not only for herself but for her entire family. It
was a scandal, but it was kept fairly quiet.
Later, she was advised to "make hay while the sun shines"
with speaking engagements, which have become something of an American
institution for anyone enjoying their 15 minutes of fame. She went around
giving speeches with zero content at $100,000 a pop, making millions from
suckers who seek celebrities, even silly ones. This is, after all, the Age of
Oprah Winfrey who has become a billionaire giving America such little circus
acts accompanied by moral bromides.
Sarah even got her pathetic daughter into the act at $30,000
a pop, this a woman with literally nothing to talk about, not even "family
values."
These are pathetic people who should never have been
involved in politics, but the example of George Bush was prominent and had set
a precedent.
Bush was almost certainly the most ignorant and
unintelligent person ever to serve as president. In some ways he proved America
does not even need a president. Of course, the real power in those years was
Dick Cheney, an intelligent, ruthless, and malevolent man, assisted by Donald
Rumsfeld.
Some thought the trick could be repeated but with a pretty
face, and Sarah had so little sense of herself she went along gleefully for the
ride.
It is hard to have any sympathy for a person of her
demonstrated lack of good sense, thinking she could be so much more than she almost
certainly had to know she was.
At any rate, she is a success, of sorts. She’s worth
millions, doesn’t have to do anything she doesn’t want to do, and still has a
following in trailer parks across America.
