The Pink Flamingo :: The Palin Principle

The NY Times has now declared that Sarah Palin is an archetype. She’s now up there with Oprah, Martha, and Rachel Ray. In other words, she’s “big” enough now to be known by just the “Sarah”. In other words, Sarah Palin is turning out to be bigger than those of us who began promoting her in the summer of 2007 could ever imagine! (Please, pardon me while I gloat and bask in the glow of having called it 13 months ago!)

Drudge has a headline that is Barack Obama’s worst nightmare. Sarah Palin is causing a run on the Kawasaki 704 glasses she wears (I just got rid of a pair, so much for my fashion sense) and her upsweep hair-do. The do is easy. I have a tendency to wear a similar one because it’s easy. It takes about a minute to do, stays in place all day (gives me a headache half the time) and when I take it down I have oodles of body. She’s also not wearing stockings. AMEN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Her Thursday night hair upsweep was much more done than usual. She’d put some time in it. I figure she either borrowed one of Cindy McCain’s stylists (if she has one) or one of the McCain girls stepped in and “did her”. Her make-up looked more professional and her hair puffier. Trust me, we notice these things.

Now that the important stuff is out of the way, we can get back down to politics. John McCain has pulled off another coup – aside from driving the MSM absolutely insane. He has managed to keep the press away from Sarah Palin, and they can’t stand it! She’s to do an interview with ABC, but that’s beside the point. What the McCain campaign is doing is just plain old good marketing. You withhold the product in demand. Build buzz. Build demand. They do it all the time in Hollywood or with high demand electronics.

BTW – Have you heard anyone comment about how short waisted Sarah Palin is and her choice of jackets and skirts? Trust me, it’s coming.

AN ARCHETYPE?
The NY Times has declared Sarah Palin an archetype.

“…She’s not an alien to modern media. She’s one of its archetypes: a Rachael Ray with a 4x4, who can not only make a meal in under 30 minutes but hunt and kill the main course. And while Ms. Palin probably wouldn’t look comfortable on Cosmopolitan with all that sex talk, there was more than a little Helen Gurley Brown in her confident speech on Wednesday. The fact that she is the proud parent of a child with special needs is seen as a credential, not an impediment, to performing a job that seems a little short on real duties anyway….“She is an amazing woman who can do it all and an amazing role model unlike any others you can think of. Oprah is not married, Martha Stewart has dogs — her daughter is grown — and Rachael Ray is married, but doesn’t have kids. Governor Palin is running a state and a family of five.”…”

THE BOTTOM LINE?
Hillary had her pants-suits and Sarah has her hair and glasses. Condi has her power pearls. Funny how you never hear anyone discuss their male counter-parts and their appearance, with the exception of The One. Then all we hear is fawning and sighing from the left, go figure. While I write this, FOX and Friends is discussing the Sarah Palin Style.

Does this demean women in politics or is it simply the difference between men and women?

Does it really make a difference?

Is it a complement?

Is it intended to demean the candidate?

Is it an expression of the strength of women in our culture, in general?

Or does Sarah Palin simply have “IT”?

Does it demean someone like Hillary Clinton or Sarah Palin to discuss their attire and how they look?

Why don’t people comment on Condi Rice?

SERVICE OVER CAREER
There has been much discussion about a “career” mom as VP. To reject Sarah Palin’s choice of career as “service” as Ruth Anne Dailey does in this piece takes away from her achievements, but yet does truly describe the “career path” of many traditional moms of the country.

“…It's interesting that Ms. Palin's political life grew not out of career ambition but out of community and family service. Clearly she's good at it; many women serve in the PTA, but not many move on to a governorship. We have yet to see whether service, not careerism, can carry a very independent woman to the vice presidency. Wouldn't that be ironic?...”

Many women who plan to stay home and raise the family have followed just such a career path, but have not ended up in the Governor’s mansions. A few have ended up in the House or Senate, and a few more have ended up in state-wide offices.

Woman have been following this career path for years, not necessarily going into politics, but into community service. I of know one woman who built a hospital in a region of south Georgia where there was none. Women have changed laws. They have taken over communities in many ways from fighting crime to working with the arts. Some women are propelled by circumstances into the work-force where their exploits have become legendary. There are women like Cindy McCain who devote their lives to service, and there are other women who must devote themselves to keeping their family afloat.

There are any number of women who are probably just as good and just as talented as Sarah Palin, but have never had a “break”. This is the real reason we’ve never had women in such national prominence before this election cycle. For the past dozen years, women have “wormed” their way into the Cabinet. We’ve had 2 women as Secretary of State, 1 Attorney General, and misc. other Cabinet positions. It’s about time we have a few trying to be ‘the boss’.

When one thinks about how difficult it is to mount a national campaign, it does say something about women and politics. It also says something about women and finances. It takes a heck of a lot of money to run for POTUS. Is that what is holding women back from our highest office, or is it simply bias against women?

Is it bias that discusses Hillary’s pant-suits and Sarah’s glasses and hair or is that the nature of the beast. Let’s be honest here. Women are the ones discussing Hillary’s wardrobe and Sarah’s glasses and updo’s. Men aren’t. It’s the nature of the beast. It’s the way our minds work. We can watch the lipstick, the kids, the polls, and run the country. It’s called multi-tasking.

Is that bias? You bet it is! It’s also the truth. It is also the reason Sarah Palin is going to make a wonderful VP and an even greater POTUS in a few years. It’s the reason I’ve been writing about her for 13 months. Men have the luxury of having tunnel-vision. They can stick to the subject, do the job, and then go play 18 holes. Women can do all of that pulse they must look good, plan dinner, and make sure the house is clean.

It's a chick thing.