Be not afraid of Palin

Be not afraid of Palin
By Clarence Page
Copyright © 2010, Chicago Tribune
February 9, 2010
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/opinion/ct-oped-0210-page-20100209,0,7042088.column


Sarah Palin's conservative fans ask me why "the liberal media" are "so afraid" of the former governor of Alaska. I, for one, am unafraid. And I am delighted that the former Republican vice presidential candidate refuses to rule out running for the presidency. I am also relieved that, so far, she does not appear to have a ghost's chance of winning.

As food for commentary, her recent weekend foray through Facebook, Fox News and the National Tea Party Convention leaves me with more choices than the proverbial mosquito in a nudist colony.

Let's see: Shall I take on her sarcastic dig during her $100,000 tea party speech in Nashville, Tenn., at President Barack Obama for using a teleprompter during his speeches, as if there is something wrong with using a teleprompter? Shall I compare it to her scribbling topic notes that high definition TV cameras caught on her left palm and sarcastically praise, say, her apparent effort to save electricity? Nah, too easy.

How about her recent condemnation of the slur "retarded"? I would applaud her unconditionally on that one had she not put her own partisan conditions on it. On her Facebook page, Palin called on Obama to fire his chief of staff, Rahm Emanuel, for calling some liberal Democrats "f---ing retarded" because they threatened to launch attack ads against conservative Democrats over health care reform. Palin was outraged enough to shun Machiavelli's advice against interrupting your enemies while they are destroying themselves.

"Rahm's slur on all God's children with cognitive and developmental disabilities — and the people who love them — is unacceptable," she wrote on her Facebook page, "and it's heartbreaking."

Who could argue with Palin's call for "decency," especially when it comes from the mother of a developmentally disabled child? As the world knows, Palin's son, Trig, has Down syndrome. Emanuel properly apologized for using the R-word in the private meeting, just as Obama apologized last year for comparing his bad bowling to the Special Olympics.

But, how to explain conservative radio star Rush Limbaugh repeatedly calling liberal Democrats "retards" on the air as he mocked Emanuel? Check out the twists, turns and curly Q's that Palin takes as she shoots through an Olympic luge of logic, trying to slam Emanuel without stepping on the toes of her political ally. "Rush Limbaugh was using satire," she said in a Super Bowl Sunday interview with Chris Wallace of Fox News, " ... I didn't hear Rush Limbaugh calling a group of people whom he did not agree with effing 'retards.' "

She should listen again. Limbaugh lambasted our "politically correct society" for "acting like some giant insult has taken place by calling a bunch of people who are retards, retards."

"I'm not going to apologize for it," Limbaugh said, "I'm just quoting Emanuel. It's in the news. … So now there's going to be a meeting. There's going to be a retard summit at the White House …"

But, hey, Palin says, it's only "satire."

As headline-making news goes, Palin's palm-piloting and R-word outrage pales in comparison to her foray during the Fox interview on national defense. She did not quite suggest that Obama invade Iran, as some news reports seemed to indicate, but she did bring up an Iran invasion as something that could calm his opposition and help Obama's re-election.

Where did she pick up that notion? From a Pat Buchanan column, she said, which did little to reassure those of us who were relieved to see "Pitchfork Pat" lose both of his presidential bids.

Ironically, I do not entirely disagree with Palin fans who say her rise is Obama's fault. In their first year in the Oval Office, Team Obama may have misread the need to reassure swing voters in these uncertain times.

A big mad-as-hell, throw-the-bums-out segment of the electorate hungers for some red-meat rhetoric in the way that Huey Long or William Jennings Bryan gave voice to grass-root frustrations back in their day.

With Obama's cool technocratic style and his stubborn concern for facts and compromise, he does not do that kind of "anger" well.

"Sarah Barracuda," as Palin's high school basketball teammates called her, does it with a smile. And she does it now as a commentator for Fox News.

Welcome to the pantheon of punditry, governor. It's more fun than being president.

Clarence Page is a member of the Tribune's editorial board and blogs at chicagotribune.com/pagespage

cpage@tribune.com