“Finally, here’s a second thing Sarah could learn from Hillary: It’s the substance that sustains, not the exposure. In terms of raw talent on the hustings, Sarah Palin is far more of a political natural than Hillary Clinton. She might get somewhere in the long run if she would just go away in the short run and read some books. Her problem is that she thinks the popular culture is the culture. She has no context, no knowledge of the world to offset her obsessive Nixonian flailings about how everyone is belittling her stature as the hardworking governor of Alaska. Her answers on CNN about Pentagon cuts in missile defense that affect her state were as halting and glassy-eyed as a novice U.N. translator’s attempt to grapple with Uzbek in his earphones.
Yet if Palin added some depth to her knowledge, she has so much she could offer.”
***
“And God bless Sarah Palin. What would we do without her for entertainment? She’s our very own political reality show. An American Political Idol finalist. She’s like watching a moose on roller skates. Never graceful. Always riveting.
Yet, despite buckets of criticism constantly flung her way, she’s got a lot going for her. Just like George W. Bush, people and the media constantly ‘misunderestimate’ her. No matter what you think about her politics, this woman is tenacious, fearless, and savvy. John McCain’s former chief of staff, Mark Salter, said it best: ‘What she knows, you can’t teach. And what she doesn’t know, she can learn.’
She got thrown in the deep end before she could swim. As my friend Stuart Stevens said, ‘It was like picking someone of the street and telling them they had to take the MCATs the next day.’ But, she dog-paddled furiously, thrashed about, made a lot of waves, and managed not to drown. And now she’s got her water wings. And she’s working on her strokes. And by 2012 or 2016, she’ll be a lot stronger.”
Join the conversation as a VIP Member