Oh, Sarah

Most of the time, I could really care less about politics. The second you begin to speak of your own political opinions, you bring joy to some, and infuriate others. I always hate when I'm having fun with a group of people, and some idiot decides to bring up their opinion of Bush, only to have one or two people get legitimately upset over what they say...but, since this is a blog, and I've got a few opinions on one particular topic, this one and only time, I will not resist.

I don't really like when I hear people make over-arching statements such as "all politicians are bad"...I view this sort of statement in the same category as racist or sexist statements. They're just so destructive and unnecessary, not to mention untrue...if you are to have the opinion that politics is all bad, rigged, etc., where is there ever going to be an opportunity for a legitimate person to get credit for being a good politician?

That being said, I don't think Sarah Palin has done much to enhance her own reputation, much less the reputation of politics in America at this current time. One of the biggest complaints I here from people is that, while politicians claim to be working for everyone, they only really care about themselves. Sarah Palin's resignation as governor of Alaska does seem to support that notion.

When you choose to run for office and become an elected official, why is it not, for every politician, considered a commitment to that city, state, or nation, for the entirety of its given term? How come when a politician feels they have gained enough national attention, it is therefore OK to leave your post and pursue a "higher calling" (Palin's words)? You can't wait for your term to expire before leaving and shamelessly promoting yourself for a position which offers more power? C'mon, really?

I must admit, Sarah was irking me a couple of weeks ago when she took advantage of the attention the media gave David Letterman after he, admittedly, made some edgy jokes about Palin's family, more specifically, her daughter...confusion about which daughter (the younger or older one) was at a New York Yankees baseball game. I'm not going to get into details, but somehow, in the end, Palin seemed to want to accuse David Letterman of being a pedophile. Even to the biggest Palin supporters, I can't imagine they could support the Palin's complaints with a straight face.

My opinion: Letterman was doing his job, and telling racy jokes that would get his audience to laugh, most of which, I assume leans to the left side of the political spectrum. The jokes were funny when I first heard them, due to the fact that Letterman was obviously refferring to Palin's adult daugher, who quite honestly, is known across the country as a slut. Right or wrong, that's her rep. Even if Letterman was a pedophile, the joke, along with being disgusting, wouldn't have made sense if he was talking about the young daughter.

From what I could tell, Palin did her best in getting as much publicity off of the jokes as she could. She claimed to speak for all Alaskans, in declaring David Letterman as a "pervert". She appeared on morning talk shows, attempting to show off her "leadership skills". As she is raking in her own publicity, she then refused Letterman's half-hearted verbal invitation to appear on her show, and said she wants to keep Willow away from Letterman, apparently in fear he will "be a pervert" towards her. (shake my head, and sigh)

Palin's efforts to create publicity over the situation have certainly worked, but I highly doubt her amateurish attempts at portraying David Letterman as a sex offender create a positive light for her among a given general audience. Honestly, what she should have done is called him out, said she was disgusted, and forgotten about it. There really are already too many politicians in this country who use simple situations to be melodramatic and make "epic" speeches in defense of some sort of American value. Even President Obama can drive me crazy with the drama in some of his speeches.

Separately, to withdraw your commitment to your post, your state, in an effort to advance YOURSELF politically is something, that I personally, will never agree with and will always look down upon. As of right now, I can't see myself ever voting for governor (soon not to be) Palin in any position. And, she's sure going to have to change a lot to win me over.