Going Rogue

Most of what I write is political. 

I generally keep it off here. 

 When Governor Palin came on the scene in 2008. I found her interesting. She reminds me of my mother. She has had a large brood one of her children is handicapped. As the case is with my family. Oh and she was married to a fisherman. This is what my family did traditionally. There is still a cousin of mine working on the boats I believe. I watched her at the debate with Joe Biden, and I thought she reminded me of my friend Meike She is Bossy. I like that So I picked up the book at the Airport. It took my mind off the turbulence below I read it from cover to cover, flying back from Washington DC. ( An irony there perhaps) It took me a while to get used the prose. Ms. Palin is no great writer. Once she settled in, it was interesting enough biography. An account of a childhood in Alaska. A part of the world, I know very little about. Stories of cleaning fish and hunting. The beginnings of her religious life. One big difference between Ms Palin, and Mom. Is that Ms Palin's mother who was a practicing catholic, drifted into another Church. This is not something that would have happened back home.  talks Palin about life with a disabled son. ( I am editing this in 2021, I now have a disabled child) 

 Sarah found it helpful to write a letter to her son. She made the point of raising the profile of learning difficulties while on campaign. For which I commend her. 

  The book is a passionate defence of hunting and fishing. She makes the old quip about God making animals out of meat She quotes a a Native American Elder-Who opined that common sense is an endangered species. Its a country woman's amazement and distaste of townies. As I have mentioned the book gives a glimpse into Native American life. Her husband describes his wife as running for Boss Alaska  One interesting fact is that Ms. Palin's parents worked at Fresh kills, keeping predators and pests away from the remains of the Twin towers. It was an active life. Ms. Palin talks about the benefits she received from Title IX. It allowed her to be a basketball player. Title IX http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Title_IX 

Palin quotes Thatcher the last prominent Mother in Politics. If you exclude Indira Gandhi She describes her gawky childhood. How she ran for a beauty queen, which was at odds with her sheltered gawky teenage years. She mentioned that her Husband told his buddies she never kissed anyone, and one still feels the indignation She mentions her sympathy for Hilary Clinton-( I wonder if she still feels the same way in 2021) She notes the easy ride Obama had. Which is now ending. The Media are beginning to fall out of love with the Man. There is mentions of the Idarod. The Alaska aces. 

 Palin answers some of her critics. There is her view of the troopergate affair.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Troopergate_(Bill_Clinton)

 Mrs Palin  mentions her struggle against Big Oil. She writes about having to accept giving Gay couples benefits. If she runs for President again, this question will come up. Sooner or later it is going to be addressed. Eire is putting through a civil partnership bill today. A President Palin may have to sign the bill. I believe she has prepared her ground on this matter. She will basically stand aloof, and pray its defeated in the senate. If not she will sign with gritted teeth, but she will sign. 

( The matter is moot-Gay Marriage is now universal in the West) 2021

 The book takes off with her discussion of her the election campaign that brought her into the spotlight. The 2008 election. Politics has been described as show business for the ugly. Well if its not too oedipal Governor Palin is not an ugly woman. However she is suddenly thrust into the spotlight. She was not a national figure. She was able to buy a pregnancy testing kit in Louisiana when she was governor. After she was selected as a running mate. The first thing she had to do was confiscate her children's mobile. Palin states she let down John McCain after the Couric interview. It along with the Tina Fey skits defined her in many minds. Not since David Steel, being portrayed as in David's Owens pocket. The Couric interview is jarring when you consider how she talks about seeing off Oil company execs, who were normally dealing with Third world warlords. It also jars with her account of working in local media. She was a beauty queen, and a radio host. She did not know the media manipulate things. If I had a third hand, I would note that Vince Cable a very experienced British politician, spent the night fumbling over a question on tax, asked by a BBC audience ``I can see Russia from my house'' Tina Fey. (Ms Palin never said the words) I thought there was a trick missed here. 

I was surprised Ms Palin did not offer a more detailed rebuttal of her duties as Governor. As Governor of Alaska she does come into contact with Russians, and Canadians. Russian fishing boats, and the occasional tourist.  Indeed Alaska is a major Airline route Where I expected: This happened. I did this. I got on the phone, and I made Washington give us more money for fisheries protection. Or I helped lobby for more Coast Guard units. Or, I expected something like this: When I dealt with the Canadian officials over this. I got them to do this. They wanted to do this. I talked them round. This is me and such a Canadian official. We found this common ground.

 There was no mention of Israel or Cuba. No blatant attempts to win lobbies there. There was no attempt to show what she did as a border Governor as opposed to stating what she did. I found it confusing. After stating the importance of hunting and fishing to Alaskans. She mentions the Exxon Valdez. Ms. Palin did not seem to want to demonstrate what the extra pressures of living above the 48 states Ms. Palin mentions she does not believe in evolution on a human level. How this will effect a Palin administration is quite a serious question. If one doubts evolution on a human level. How does this effect federal funding for everything from Archaeology, to Biomedical research. The Bush administration was proved right on stem cell research. Turned out, there more ways to harvest stem cells, then from embryonic tissue. More and more we need scientific literacy from our leaders. If for no other reason then the depoliticization of Science. It is a curious book, about a curious woman. There are many things left unsaid. It is the story of an outsiders rise to a place where the eyes of the entire world were on her. From the shores of Alaska, to a Goldfish bowl. 

Sarah's life  similar to President Obama's life. Both are outsiders. Unlike their running mates. This was part an apologia, something of a manifesto and a reminder that politics and thus history is made by individuals. 

Success and failure the difference between the two may be an off day