Palin wins by quitting while Granholm can't win for trying - Laura Berman, Detnews columnist

[Bozita]

November 22, 2009 http://detnews.com/article/20091122/OPINION03/911220313
Palin wins by quitting while Granholm can't win for trying
LAURA BERMAN

As Gov. Jennifer Granholm made her way around the state last week, trying to tap political support for the broken Michigan Promise scholarships and her own education initiative, the state spotlight was shining more brightly on another female governor.

Sarah Palin -- who abruptly quit her job running Alaska in July -- launched her national book tour at a Grand Rapids-area Barnes & Noble, fulfilling a promise she'd made during the McCain presidential campaign to return.

Palin's fans waited in line, some overnight, bought "Read my lipstick" buttons and wore "Sarah is a hero" hats. They praised her character and urged her to run for president. In her red blazer and jazzy eyeglasses, Palin clinched the connection between Michigan and Alaska: "the huntin' and the fishin' and the hockey moms and just the hardworking, patriotic Americans," who clamored for her.

Even Granholm's most ardent supporters aren't cheering loudly now: Michigan is an industrial quagmire, its economic challenges matched by Lansing's dysfunction.

But Granholm -- elected in 2002 on a combination of charisma, communication skills and intelligence -- is mired by the state's endless series of unfortunate events and badly matched personalities. Her star power wanes with every day she stays in a difficult game.

By all rights, Palin ought to be at least as dead in the water. A failed vice presidential candidate, she quit her job as Alaska's governor midway through her first term, ridiculing "lame duck" governors, and by inference, all governors who (a) don't quit after one term or (b) who don't quit in the middle of their first term.

With 18 months to go -- and apparent clarity about the pointlessness of serving it out -- she spun that decision as an exercise in rugged individualism, saying she wasn't wired to do what other governors do: "Travel around the state...just accept that lame duck status, hit the road, draw the paycheck and milk it."

Instead, Palin teamed with a writer, typed up "Going Rogue," donned the campaign blazer and flew into Grand Rapids inspiring her version of shock and awe.

The two attractive, charismatic female governors are opposites in style and substance: Granholm fights for seriousness, playing down her physical beauty and emphasizing her grit and intelligence. Palin's high heels and chesty bravado -- and her indifference to proving herself as a policy wonk or scholar -- are just fine with the "let Sarah be Sarah" crowd. "She's a very real person. A fresh breath of air," a man named "Joe" told MSNBC in Grand Rapids.

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[Taverner]

1. As far as I can tell, she is doing the best she can too - totally revolutionized the state's IT dept

Bringing everything under "one house" and going with a very streamlined approach

The Granholm Model is pushing State IT into modern times

[Cha]

2. Yeah, that sounds like a catchy hook but palin

is the real loser. The only failure is not trying..just bc the coporatemediawhores follow her around like tony blair lap dogs is no reason to think she's won anything.