Writing in Big Journalism, Mike Metroulas brilliantly puts his finger on Palin’s appeal: the demonizing of her is motivated by her detractors’ knowledge that her nomination “would unleash a grassroots fury of support unseen on the right for a Republican presidential nominee in recent memory.”
The appeal of Palin is illuminated by many of the images/perceptions of both her and President Obama. Palin the badass hunts, fishes, climbs mountains, shoots caribou, rides in small planes often; the Democrats are represented by Obama, a man who flinches while watching a judo exhibition andwears a safety helmet for a leisurely bike ride. Fair or not, this perception exists. Palin is Theodore Roosevelt in a size 6 suit, American flag pin, and some kick ass black leather boots, Obama is an academic who looks uncomfortable in jeans, throws like a girl, and can’t name his alleged baseball heroes from childhood. Again, seemingly superficial stuff, but appearances go a long way in America and can be especially ineffective when they seem contrived or overly effeminate. Hillary Clinton wanted to look like a badass when she slammed that shot of whiskey. I won’t lie; I thought it was cool. She seemed like she’d done that before. Palin rejects the faulty reasoning levied against her regarding Tucson because she herself would never blame others for her own actions. This whole episode reveals why Sarah Palin has such a strong base. Love her or hate her, she epitomizes American individualism. This attitude seems to permeate her personal life as well as her political philosophy. She realizes that life isn’t always as complicated as the “experts” claim it is. Academia is all about formulating new, complex theories that impress other academics. Most Americans only care about reasonable solutions that have a track record of success. Theorizing is fine, (heck, it’s one of my favorite hobbies) but indicative of a society that has become lazy and lost its blue collar work ethic
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