Governor Palin 4 President

Before Sarah Palin became John McCain's running mate last year, we spent a morning in her Alaska office while she was still governor. We sat down for a one-hour TV interview, and I was most impressed with her insights, traditional values, grasp of issues, and just what a sincere and genuinely warm person she was.

The morning in her office made it clear why so many Americans across the board respond to and connect deeply with her brand of politics. However, the former governor has become an icon to many and a disaster waiting to happen for others.

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America loves second acts. Exhibit A: the book tour phenomenon. Every washed-up, has-been former star can jump-start his or her career by writing a book and singing a redemptive tune in book stops across the country. In many respects, the book tour is a microcosm of the democratic political process. The form relies on the ability of the writer to hold the audience's interest by simply recounting his or her own story. The most successful ones are able to resonate with the blue-collar public by suggesting a better alternative to their own lives.

I don't begrudge Mrs. Palin and the whirlwind media tour for the release of her book, "Going Rogue." It's a good read. It's more than 400 pages of talking points distilled into homespun metaphors. Does that constitute a good vision? I'm not so sure. And therein lies the problem with Mrs. Palin's much-expected run for the 2012 Republican presidential nomination.

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These next few months must become Mrs. Palin's own personal primary - a time when she does some serious policy introspection and fleshes out in her mind what issues will define her presidential run. It's not enough to list them on a pocket card to recite at local pig roasts. She can only get so far with friendly locals more star-struck than hungry for solutions. Mrs. Palin must add intellectual heft behind her populist stands - drill down what sets her apart and then test it with the populace.

The challenge is not to contrast against her potential primary opponents - they've yet to really surface, let alone matter. No, Mrs. Palin's larger quest must come opposite the Great One himself, President Obama. It's a target-rich environment, for sure. Mr. Obama has given every Republican plenty to dismantle and deride. 

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Followers don't expect her to recite Ayn Rand or William Blackstone in her speeches. They may not even care at this point. Yet they soon will, and Mrs. Palin must anticipate that rising hunger for substance all voters eventually come to expect and demand from presidential hopefuls. There will come a time when homespun homilies will not carry the day.

There's a major disconnect that started long before Mrs. Palin's book tour and traces its history back to her campaign days as a vice presidential contender. That disconnect, simply stated, is: Good policy makes good politics. All throughout her book tour, and continuing today, Mrs. Palin has served herself well on the rhetoric and yet has offered nothing by way of substance.

At some point, political leaders must stop preying on the fears of the citizenry and start offering workable solutions.

The author is correct: Governor Palin must target the disaster Obama.  But what Mr. Williams overlooks are the dozen assaults Governor Palin has already hit Obama with, like Death Panels and health care, his Socialist agenda, climategate and so on.  I would say only Rush Limbaugh and Governor Palin have been speaking the truth and going after Obama & his socialist crew for all their lies and disastrous policies!!

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Palin's Paradox