Sarah Palin's "Issues".

Normally I wouldn't have had any desire to watch the Republican Convention, especially the announcement of their VP nominee. But as most of you no doubt realize, this is not a normal election cycle. I wanted to see how Sarah Palin would bear up under the wave of both rumors and substantial revelations that have been issued since her "coming out". I guess you could say that means that the selection worked, at least for the time being. There is no doubt, after last night's speech, that Palin has energized the "Moral Majority", Christian Right wing of the base. Her reception was tremendously supportive, and she looked to be in her element among those homogeneous, Midwestern Republicans.

Initially my resolve was to watch the presentation until Ms. Palin got on the subject of family. If I had stuck to that, I would have had to tune out after she thanked the crowd for their enthusiastic reception. So I decided I would have to wait until she started talking about the issues, and about half way through her routine, she finally did. I struggled through what appeared to be a Paula Poundstone performance, realizing that the McCain handlers had made sure to take great pains to keep her on message. First came the attacks on the media, for having the audacity to question a candidate that they knew little or nothing about. Palin's listeners loved that, as they have assured themselves that any criticisms are motivated by "liberal bias".

Next Palin outlined her experiences as Governor. As most people already know, there's not a lot to say about the 20 months she's been serving in the position. She talked about having sold an aircraft on eBay. That got a hearty laugh. She talked about having brokered a deal to build a pipeline to bring natural gas into the lower 48. Of course she didn't mention that the previous governor had already done this, and she merely invalidated that contract. What seemed deliberately left out of the "official record" was that she stripped US companies of the construction opportunity, and awarded it to a Canadian company. So much for her vaunted support for creating "American (she means US, of course) jobs with American energy."

She also talked about her strident opposition to earmarks.* What is not so well known is that Alaska leads the nation in earmarks, in terms of federal tax dollars received per capita. Despite her contention that she is against this system, while she was serving as Mayor of her little hamlet, she lobbied Washington for millions of dollars for her home state, and then worked with disgraced Senator Ted Stevens to do the same. Palin even had the audacity to claim to have been against federal funding of the "Bridge to Nowhere". The truth is that she supported the project until national media decried it as a symbol of pork barrell spending, While it's correct to say that she cancelled the construction of the bridge, what she hasn't bragged about is having kept the federal funds already doled out, and diverting its use for other "state priorities".

As far as future policies are concerned, she made it clear that her energy plan is focused and concentrated on drilling in Alaska (that's a big surprise!). This should help her award even more energy rebates to Alaskans next year. What it does for (or to) the lower 48 is anybody's guess. Ultimately Sarah Palin underscored the fact that she is a provincial politician. She consistently portrayed herself as just a "hockey mom", as if this were the answer when people ask what kind of person can help us reverse the damage of the last eight years of the Bush administation. Do you remember the last executive candidate to sell himself as just an "ordinary guy" and a Washington "outsider"? Ask yourself how well he has served your interests.

I have no doubt that Ms. Palin appealed to the rank-and-file within the "conservative" movement. But any whisperings that she might expand the base, or reach into other segments of the populace are starting to fade away. She may indeed have gained a few folks with her promises to serve as an "advocate" for those with disabled children, but I don't think she made any progress with "community organizers" after she derided them as having no "actual responsibilities". Perhaps there are folks throughout small-town America who are thinking that she is "just like them". However, after last night's speech I am prompted to ask the question, "Who really knows who Sarah Palin actually is? I'm sure the media will be inspired to help answer that question.


*As some readers may know, earmarks are specific requests for federal funds for narrow projects within a state. They are often referred to as "Pork Barrell" spending.