All we are saying is "give Palin a chance" -- some comments about Palin from an old blogger who really hates pink.

Mayor Palin, 1996: beautiful, effective, fair and one who has a proven ability to adapt to her political assignment.

In a feature found in The Hill, an article was published recording the tactical change in campaign strategies for Sarah Palin. The article succeeded in being somewhat objective while implicitly negative with regard to the Governor. One would think this couldn't be done, but Christian Heinze succeeded in this assignment.

From the beginning of Palin's own interest in seeking the presidency, she has made her candidacy a matter of self sacrifice, agreeing to serve as a candidate if no other qualified conservatives stepped up to run. Even this editor was somewhat critical of that approach. Of course there will be other qualified conservatives in the mix. Of course. A "mis-step" on her part? No. Rather, I see a young woman (I am 65) who is still pinching herself, checking to see if this circumstance she is in is more the dream than the reality. Let's not forget that she is Miss Middle America. We expect her to say things that "will not work" as political speech. Of course it hurts the cause. . . . . . somewhat. She is growing up, politically. Too bad, but that is the necessity and she is trying to make that happen.

In recent weeks, Governor Palin has changed her tactics. Now, she is stressing her qualifications and stressing the import of "electability." A great strategy.

If this editor was Palin's campaign manager, he would tell her,

"Get real about your qualifications and the public perception of same. Like it or not, your opponents will play down the fact of your mayoral record and play up the fact that you quit the governorship with 18 months remaining in your first term."

Understand that when you are in a war, you have to think like your enemies and opponents.

Here is this editor's defense of Palin concerning all of the above:

I see her much more as Miss Middle America than as a rogue politician. If "rogue" is reasonable and borne of exceptional political instincts, it is good. Give the woman an A on this point. But don't run on the point. It puts her in a box. The first time she decides to "go with the flow," her credentials as a heart-felt free thinking politician will be called into question. In fact, forget "rogue" as that which typifies Candidate Palin. Again, she should govern as an independent and identify with that characterization. Why? Because that is how she has governed. "Rogue" -- as a word -- ties her the loser, McCain; it weds her to the past. While she feels a strong sense of loyalty toward the Senator, she does herself no favors to run for office "as another rogue politician." That was his moniker. It, therefore, should not be hers.

Before the governorship, she served more than a decade in a number of capacities including mayor of Wasilla. In fact, from 1992 through 2002, she was elected and served two full terms on the Wasilla City Council and two three year terms as Wasilla's mayor. Hardly the quitter. In fact, she was so well thought of in Alaska, that she was elected as President of the Alaska Conference of Mayors.

But what about the governorship? Look, this editor has witnessed a number of folks destroyed "by the machine," hateful folks using the court system to drive others out of office or off their property. The strategy is profoundly simply; if you have more money than your opponent, take them to court as often as possible, run up their legal fees until it no longer makes financial sense to continue and , BAM !!, you are the winner.

The low life Palin opponent/collective was doing just this. At the time she was FORCED TO QUIT, she and Todd owed half a million dollars on their way to two or three million dollars in legal fees. Under those conditions, this editor does not see Palin's quitting as a negative. There is nothing in her history that screams "quitter." Nothing. Leaving the governorship for the sake of saving her home was her only course.

Almost immediately, there was that book deal and the book became the number one best selling non-fiction for the year, 2009. She beat out Rush, O'Reilly, Hanity, Levin, Beck, Obama, Pelosi, the moron we know as Harry Reid and on and on. With her new found financial success came . . . . . . . . . . power !! She now had the where-with-all to fight her opponents and these low-life legal hounds quickly vanished from the scene.

Who is the quitter now, we ask ?

Understand that she was forced out as Governor but where did she go? If a quitter, two years after the fact, we would hear nothing of this woman. Quitter by butt !! She has proven herself to be exactly and profoundly the opposite.

THAT is how "quitting" needs to be handled.

We argue that if nothing else, the pressure to quit for the sake of peace of mind is greater today than two years ago. If I were her manager, we would have a few sessions on this very issue.

Let's take a look at McCain's reason for selecting Palin as his running mate. In his own words, we have this:

"I found someone with an outstanding reputation for standing up to special interests and entrenched bureaucracies," he said in introducing her in Dayton, Ohio, back in 2008. Palin was someone, he noted, "who reached across the aisle and asked Republicans, Democrats and independents to serve in government."

Those who defend her should make it more important that, after two years, she has proven herself to be worthy of the notion that she is persistent as one who pursues her agenda, anything but a quitter, that the forces who want her "gone" have increased in both intensity and numbers, yet, her political clout has overshadowed the opposition.

She should never defend herself as relates to her political style or rhetoric. It is obvious to this pundit, that her political speak is much improved as is her writing. Practice makes perfect and practice is the only course for improvement. Most important of all, is the fact that she is manifestly correct on nearly all conservative issues. For some reason, that does not figure into any discussion of her "qualifications."

One final note, almost a "post script." When I wrote that she needs to "get real . . . about the public perception . ." of her qualifications, I had this in mind: her opposition argues that "Mayor of Wasilla" and "Governor of Alaska" are not comparable to the work of mayor or governor in larger populations.

OK. So, think of her time in on the city council, as Mayor of Wasilla, as Governor of Alaska, as president of the Alaska Conference of Governors, as chair of the Alaska Oil and Gas Conservation Commission, think of all this as equal to serving a fairly good sized corporate entity.

When faced with this critic

Obama had not of that. None. The most people he managed was 13, as a community organizer. Sure, he taught college but only part-time and only three classes per summer. He wrote no papers and did not distingish himself at all, until he made that speech at the 2004 Democrat National Convention.

We recall a speech Palin made at the 2008 National Republican Convention, a speech as well done and as well received as Mr. Obama's performance. She had that debate with Joe Blow. We were all a little worried. She walked out onto that stage, set the man up with "Can I call you Joe," held her own splendidly throughout the debate and got in the most memorable line of the debate, "say is isn't so, Joe" and yet, there are those who doubt her instincts and abilities.

Can she change enough minds to get the nomination AND win the election ? We do not know. But she needs to be given that opportunity.

We will trust that beating Obama is more important than Sarah winning an election. We trust in her sensibility on this matter and support her effort to be until the National Convention and the selection of the 2012 GOP Presidential candidate.
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