Sarah Palin loves publicity; she loves power, money and fame - plain and simple. And the media went on overdrive this weekend when the Palin's took to the road. She walked around followed by an adoring fan base and her every move was captured by the so called "lame stream media". Lame in deed. This was the same media circus that The Donald activated when he started peddling the idea that he might run for the Presidency. So it made perfect sense that the two biggest media whores came together in media central. How those two egos could co-inhabit the same space is beyond imagining.
It is hard to comprehend, though, why even respected pundits like Chris Matthews, begin to salivate at the mere thought of a Palin run. He was like a gushing schoolboy, while talking on his show about her hog ride and stroll through DC over Memorial Day. "Look at the way she walks..." he dribbled, it was nauseating.
There was a time in this country when real grassroots activists and intellectuals started movements, not billionaire backed hired hands. These were real activist, not afraid to dig in and get dirty. It wasn't about a photo-op, these leaders read, were informed, thought deeply and had opinions based on facts. Genuine individuals who really believed in what they were doing and stood firmly against adversity to influence real change. They were the real deal. Not phonies driven by a thirst to be a celebrity. They didn't do it as a get rich scheme, they weren't on the payroll of faux news networks, they didn't purchase multi-million dollar compounds, and they didn't do reality television shows.
Palin got a taste of fame, of power and she is not going away quietly. She has figured out how to make lots of money quickly by giving the appearance of leading a movement, when in fact she only likes the limelight, the adoration of the crowd, the celebrity status that it gives her, the headlines she can grab. Fame can be corrosive and I do believe that it has infected her in a big way, thanks in great part to the willing media circus that insists on hanging on her every word as though it were the Sermon on the Mount. Even her brainless tweets are recycled to fill the time and space of the 24/7 news cycle.
Peel back the outer layer of Sarah Palin, and there is not much of anything beneath the hokey Mama Grizzly and folksy imitation of down home Americana she parades. She is a creation of her own machination fueled by the media's attention. She came that close to the White House and a smart, charismatic, well-educated phenom stole it right from under her. Someone so far above her intellectually, that to mention them in the same sentence is sinful. The idea that this Black man snatched the power from her must have rattled her very soul (if she has one).
One thing is still very true in this country, more than anywhere else. Anyone, even an individual with little more than common sense, can make it in this country, and she is proof positive of that. This woman has built her own personal brand, but think about it - what has she really done? She put out two books (or is it three?), poorly written and just as empty as she is. She is a contributor on Fox - take a look at their line up, no great feat there. She gets paid big bucks to give speeches - mostly a diatribe aimed specifically at one person, President Obama, a man who represents everything she hates because he is like the club, she could never be a member of.
Listen carefully to her acrimonious speeches; they are substance free, lacking content. She speaks in generalities because she has no clue what the real issues are or how to solve the problems that distress her so called fan base. She has mastered the art of key word speak - phrases she makes sure to inject during each of her appearances. Like a mention of Reagan, the constitution, the founding fathers, real Americans, lame stream media, inside the beltway politicos. You get what I mean.
In Sarah Palin's America the world moves backwards not forward. Creationism, replaces the need for science and innovation. You will never hear her advocate education. Her vocabulary is minus any reference to great literature, or research, or knowledge. In fact Sarah Palin more often than not, flies by the seat of her pants with little reference to facts. And that's why she does so well in Roger Ailes toxic environment where the truth is an inconvenience.
So why the fascination with this half-wit, this Annie Oakley-Barbie -- shooting meat for supper while doing her Miss America wave across the stage? Because she is the media's flavor of the month. We have become a nation that likes watching a good train wreck. Sarah Palin is good sport for late night comedians that offer us a reprieve from the realities of everyday life in a tough economy.
She and her teabaggers however do not represent real Americans. Real Americans are the brave individuals who held vigil in Madison, Wisconsin and Ohio as bills threatening their unions were being squeezed through by Republican Governors. Where was her righteous indignation? Nowhere in sight. Palin has a convenient way of identifying with so-called "real Americans". The best we can hope for is that the bus has a flat, that she fades into the horizon or that the media picks up the scent of another headline grabbing story. But my fear is that we will keep watching for the wreck to happen.
