"Is The White House Ready For A Rogue?"

It's time to Break It Down!

We live in interesting times. A year into the Obama Presidency and nearing the end of the Commander-in-Chief’s first visit to China, one of the most highly energized national media conversations is all about former Alaska Governor, Sarah Palin, half of the Republican’s McCain-Palin Ticket that challenged Mr. Obama and Mr. Biden.

Yesterday Mrs. Palin’s freshly minted Memoir was released, entitled Going Rogue – An American Life. The 413-page book retails for $28.99, has pre-sold over a million copies, and no doubt is available for you to purchase at a book store near your, or on-line. Mrs. Palin is off and running on a full scale book tour and interview schedule, which included a Rush Limbaugh interview and the airing of a taped segment of the Oprah Winfrey Show, both this week.

It is fair to say Mrs. Palin has decided to use the "take lemons and make lemonade" strategy to move her book. What exactly do I mean by that, you may ask?

Back during the 2008 Presidential Campaign, Team McCain and Team Palin clashed occasionally. During one particularly contentious period near the end of the campaign, a McCain aide was quoted as describing Mrs. Palin as “going rogue.”

Had Obama Team launched such a pointed missile, it would have been understandable...coming from the opposition. However, coming from a member of the "Home Team,” this smacked of “the enemy within;” was certainly was disconcerting at the time, and apparently still carries a sting.

It is at this point where the Palin brain trust has gambled that the insiders’ insult will garner currency, empathy, and more as she goes on tour and recites, among other things, the “herstory” (sic) of the McCain-Palin Campaign. To fully appreciate the essence of the McCain camp’s Palin “dis,” one likely needs to review the definition of rogue. Dictionary.com uses these words, among others, to describe the term:

• A dishonest, knavish person; scoundrel
• A tramp or vagabond
• An inferior organism
• To cheat
• To uproot or destroy
• Abnormally savage or unpredictable
• No longer obedient, belonging, or accepted
• Not controllable, or answerable; deviating, renegade
• Unprincipled, deceitful, unreliable, rascal
• Large, destructive, anomalous
• Operating outside desirable controls
• To defraud
• Synonyms: Villain, trickster, swindler, cheat, quack, knave

Now these are not terms I use to describe Mrs. Palin. Rather this is a sampling taken from the pool of available definitions of the word used to describe her by her erstwhile cohorts, at a time political campaigners might refer to as, “The heat of battle.”

That Mrs. Palin chose to take this unconventional route, and play up this apparent disconnect does two things. First, it underscores what “The Base” likes about her…that she is neither afraid of controversy, nor unaccustomed to dealing with it. Second, it creates a pathway to achieve a couple of her key objectives: out Team McCain for the transgressions she believed she was forced to endure during the campaign, and support and augment her interest in positioning herself as an option to lead the Republican Ticket in 2012.

There are many who believe this is impossible, and many others who think it is at best implausible. Recent poll numbers show 28 percent of Americans think Mrs. Palin is qualified to be President, while 7 out of 10 say she is not qualified. The good news, for her aspirations, is, 54 percent of Republicans believe she is qualified. That, however, is contrasted by the outlook of Independents, only 29 percent of whom felt she is qualified. Of Democrats, 10 percent believe she is qualified.

The same poll indicates Mrs. Palin does have a number of strengths:

• Americans believe she is not a typical politician
• Respondents say she cares about average Americans
• Poll results show she is honest and trustworthy

Still, it is likely the high poll numbers in this survey and others that show Americans do not believe Mrs. Palin is qualified to be President will prove be a huge impediment to her efforts make 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue her home.

“Is The White House Ready For A Rogue?” I don’t think so. I’m done; holla back!

Read my blog anytime by clicking the link: http://thesphinxofcharlotte.blogspot.com . A new post is published each Wednesday. For more detailed information on a variety of aspects relating to this post, consult the links below:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sarah_Palin

http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/rogue

http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/rogue

http://www.cbsnews.com/blogs/2009/11/17/politics/politicalhotsheet/entry5685965.shtml

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/politics/2009/11/17/2009-11-17_going_rogue_review_sarah_palin_is_complainer_in_chief_in_new_book.html

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704431804574537882681089404.html

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/15/books/15book.html

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/discussion/2009/11/16/DI2009111603639.html

http://www.time.com/time/politics/article/0,8599,1939830,00.html

http://www.amazon.com/Going-Rogue-American-Sarah-Palin/dp/0061939897

http://www.sphere.com/2009/11/16/the-reviews-are-in-for-palins-going-rogue/

http://edition.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/10/25/palin.tension/index.html

http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2009/11/16/cnn-poll-most-americans-say-palin-not-qualified-to-serve-as-president/

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-ticket8-2009nov08,0,5692631.story