The Palin Principle

I like Sarah Palin. She’s not hard to like. She’s attractive, funny, and has serious charisma. She’s also kinda hot. She’d probably be fun to hang out with.

But haven’t we made this mistake before?

Sarah Palin already has the best job for her. She’s wildly popular as Governor of Alaska because she clobbered the oil companies to get $1200 a year for Alaska residents. (Sure, she sucks up a huge trough of federal money for things like roads and bridges, and she never bothered to give back the “Bridge To Nowhere” millions. But you know what, we can’t really send her to her room for that until all the other gravy-trainers get off the federal chow line. We could, however, ask her to be honest about it.)

She has no experience in foreign policy. Siberians and Yukon Eskimos are too busy sinking in melting tundra to invade Alaska. She has little experience in domestic policy. Alaskans don’t want anybody telling them how to live. That’s why they’re in Alaska. They know how to live. They hunt, fish, dogsled, ride snowmobiles, and play golf at midnight. They’re a breed and a continent apart. Colorful, freedom-loving people. Like Chris and Maggie on Northern Exposure. They also drink a lot. Sarah’s one of them and they love her. (Although I have no idea if she drinks a lot.)

Alaska’s where she belongs.

It’s the political “Peter Principle.” Successful people, great at their jobs, keep getting promoted, eventually beyond their level of expertise, in over their heads, then things go to hell.

Like I said, we’ve tried that once already this millennium. It hasn’t worked out so well.

What also sets off the “oh-oh” meter is that Sarah seems to have a lot of the same characteristics of the Current Disappointment. She’s rigid in her thinking, tends to see things in terms of absolute right and wrong, black and white, good vs evil. She likes to use the phrase “It’s God’s will” when talking about the Iraq war or her 30 billion pipeline.

According to German Theologian Karl Rahner, “There are two kinds of people in the world: people who need certainty, and people who seek understanding.”

We’ve already seen what it’s like to have a leader who thinks he’s right about everything, and when he’s not right, gets the evidence changed.

It’s like my friend Dr. Bowen White says, “When you’re sure you’re right, you’re stuck with what you already know.”

How about we choose a veep who’s willing to seek understanding. Someone who makes intelligent, considered decisions based on the advice of knowledgeable people who may differ in their views. Someone who wants to aim a little higher than shooting wolves on the ground from helicopters.

(Here’s a video about Sarah’s wolf-hunting philosophy.)

© 2008 Greg Tamblyn, Motivational Humorist and Registered American Voter