I admit I was thrilled when Sarah Palin spoke to the Republican National Convention. She was sensational: a fresh wind from the west, the sort that sporadically informs, directs, inspires, provokes, and sets in motion a new wave of American politics: from Andrew Jackson to Lewis Cass to Abraham Lincoln to William Jennings Bryan to Robert LaFollette to Ronald Reagan. Like many who were hopeful that a voice from America's frontier might improve the dialogue among the sophists in the media and in politics, I was disappointed when Gov. Palin's interviews on national media were so jumbled. I wanted to give her the benefit of the doubt, but I know that a good staff can prevent much if not all the kinds of troubles she had on the campaign trail. In not discerning the right people to listen to and not pressing her message successfully, she failed.
Kathleen Parker, a writer I respect, blasted Gov. Palin last fall, and this summer she notes again that Gov. Palin has yet to put together a staff capable of keeping her on top of the game as a national political player. You cannot blame the media. Gov. Palin has to take charge of her message and deliver it effectively by selecting favorable audiences in challenging venues and difficult audiences in favorable venues. That is what smart politicians do.
This isn't T-ball for kindergartners. Everybody is keeping score, tracking every pitch, and grading each at-bat. I am sure that her sudden candidacy last summer had an effect on her and her family not unlike Pearl Harbor and the six months afterwards. Yet Gov. Palin's staff still cannot return telephone calls to her most ardent fans and respond properly to invitations. I like her very much, but I wish she would lie extremely low until she has a staff capable of organizing a dinner party, much less a national political candidacy.
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