Between surreal appearances from Wasilla as the caged pundit of Fox News and quick, splashy landings in the lower 48 states, Palin has shown she still has the attention span of a hummingbird on a nectar jag. She does not do basic homework. Never has. The result is a string of endorsements for people whose lives are living contradictions of their stated philosophies.
Palin could have served out a single term as Alaska governor, leaving a public service legacy while boning up on the issues. As depicted in the book “Game Change,” what Palin wanted more than anything was to be loved in Alaska. Todd and Sarah Palin “continued to be far more preoccupied by her status in Alaska than just about anything else,” write the book’s authors, John Heilemann and Mark Halperin. “Any issue related to the state put them on high alert, and incited some of their worst propensities toward parsimoniousness with the truth.” But in deciding to get rich quick, the demi-governor has ditched whatever grounding she may have had in what Bush aides dismissed as the “reality-based community,” and lost her way in the Last Frontier State. Her brand is toast there, as well.
Not long ago, she was most popular governor in the United States, with approval ratings in Alaska that crossed party lines and races. Earlier this month, a Rasmussen poll found that 50 percent of those surveyed in Alaska now have an unfavorable view of Palin, and a plurality of her fellow Alaskans would not vote for her for president.
A valedictory, of sorts, was sounded on Palin by Walter Hickel, the former governor and dean of Alaska Republicans, who died this month. Though he backed Palin for governor in 2006, by 2009 he was disgusted with her, particularly how she went running after the ephemera of celebrity.
“She fell in love with the national spotlight and lost her ethical compass,” Hickel said in one of his final interviews.
Of late, whenever a candidate with the Palin blessing blows up, she blames it on the “lamestream media,” not personal responsibility. It’s a curious claim, coming from a person who said she studied journalism in college, but is appalled by real journalism.
It’s early in the campaign season, but these car wrecks on the Palin highway are piling up. As for the Palin brand, it seems to represent no consistent philosophy, no guiding principles, no remedial vetting. It stands for one thing — Palin — and in that sense, she does have a legacy, though it can only be measured in dollars.
http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/05/26/the-palin-brand/?ref=opinion&ref=opinion
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