No, She Didn't, But the Message Was So Worth the Effort

It was well worth driving 6.5 hours with our 4 kids and our dog, followed the next day by sitting in the rain for 3 hours before Sarah Palin took the stage in Iowa yesterday.  She delivered one of the best speeches I've ever heard her give.  She skirted right up to the very edge of announcing her candidacy, without actually stepping over that line.  She was exceptionally hard-hitting against President Obama and said, "We will not solve our economic problems until we confront the cronyism of our president and our permanent political class."  She said, "Like you, I'm not for sale."  She pointed out to the crowd that who and what we replace Barack Obama with is very important. She commented on Obama's plan to raise $1 billion to continue carrying out his plans.  She mentioned she has been outspent in previous campaigns, "2 to 1, 3 to 1 and 5 to 1."  She said to the crowd, "Let me tell you about my plan," then proceeded to outline 7 items she would put into place.  Toward the end of her speech, she said the following about a stop she made after her visit last month to the Iowa State Fair:

"Standing [in Kansas City] in the rain, reading those inscriptions on the [WW I] memorials about the honor and dedication to God & country, I thought of all those young patriots who suffered & died far from home & revering our vets there, with the next generation by my side, there was such clarity in our calling, Patriotic Constitutionalists.  We have a duty, not just to the living, but to those who came & died before us and to the generations yet to be born.  Our freedom was purchased.  You & I are blessed to be born the heirs of freedom."

There were 4 or 5 times I was sure the next words out of her mouth would be an announcement of candidacy.  However, by the same token, I had very serious doubts after the hiccups on Wednesday between her representatives and the planners of the Tea Party of America event.  I thought there's no way, if her people are firing a warning shot about her pulling out, that this will be the day she announces.  Also, sitting there in the rain in the field, at an event to which she was invited, but did not plan herself, didn't feel like the right environment.  The 3-year anniversary of her RNC speech was just a bit too obvious for Sarah, too.  She is totally unpredictable and a maverick to the nth degree.  I have a feeling her announcement is going to come like a shot in the dark--no one will see it coming nor be prepared for it.  That's just how she likes it done.

Leaders like Sarah Palin are few and far between.  I know people hate her.  I know people think she's a moron and a joke.  I cannot stand the people who think that about her because what it proves to me is they hate that for which she stands.  The hatred people feel for Sarah Palin is not about Sarah Palin.  That is a fact.  After all, she's nothing more than a small town mayor, who's a mom and wife of a blue collar worker.  Big deal.  She lives way up in Alaska, so what could possibly be threatening about her?  What the people who hate her actually hate is everything single thing she stands for.  There are people who hate the truth and that's exactly what is comes down to.  They have to destroy her because she's effective.  The fact that she flat out refuses to back down and shut up is more than they can take.  They have to shut the truth up and it is dangerously threatening to them when it is delivered via such an effective vessel.  Isn't it interesting that the inconsequential, stupid, moronic, incoherent Sarah Palin can't do a single thing without being smothered by the press?  Even the enemies of truth can't resist its light.  And I am not referring to Sarah Palin, the person.  The fact that she is so effective at speaking the truth is not something even she can control, other than to allow the truth to be spoken through her.  There are many others who speak the same message, but very few who have the same impact as the governor.

The reaction of the press when her caravan arrived at the event was a sight to behold.  It was shortly before she actually spoke.  My husband noticed 4 or 5 vehicles heading right behind stage and told me to look, just in time to see a herd of reporters, racing each other through the crowd to get down there.  What does that look like to her, as she sits in her car, looking out at the herd, racing towards her?  It has got to be a ridiculous spectacle. It's no wonder she barely gives them the time of day.  Who can respect a crowd of people who, as a whole, dismiss you as an ignoramus, but then crawl over each other, trying to get as close as possible?  What a bunch of fools.  What they miss completely is with their behavior, they continually prove what makes Sarah Palin relevant.  They're drawn to her for the same reason as everyone else, even though their response differs from her supporters.  It's a phenomenon.

Besides what she says and stands for, the fact that she is a real human being and shows it when she talks to people, is an expression of trust in her fellow Americans.  Letting her guard down and just being who she is, rather than carefully calculating every word that comes out of her mouth, proves that she is trustworthy.  For example, she can share a joke, knowing those listening will appreciate it.  One of her most memorable lines yesterday was when she said, "Polls are for strippers and skiers."  When she gives a speech, she's not talking TO her listeners, she's in conversation WITH them.  And the listeners know it.

The overall take-away for me yesterday is she is going to run, but, of course, there's no guarantee until an actual announcement is made.  Even if she doesn't, I continue to believe that exactly the right person is being ripened for the hearty work of leading us out of the tangled mess in which we find ourselves.  Who that person is will become evident to all eventually and there's still plenty of time.