Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin and husband Todd addressed the crew of the Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS John C. Stennis earlier this month. (Navy photo by Josue L. Escobosa / via AP)
by Mark Silva
"The storm that is the honorable governor of the great state of Alaska'' gets a full weather report in Todd Purdum's lengthy and luxuriously written look at the past and possible future of the Republican who may have energized her party's base last year, but also may have helped sink its prospects.
It was Michael Steele, the party chairman, who likened Palin to a force of nature at a Right to Life dinner in Indiana. And now it is Purdum, national editor of Vanity Fair, who calls the question of "where that storm may be heading... one of the most intriguing issues in American politics today.
"Palin is at once the sexiest and the riskiest brand in the Republican Party,'' he writes. "Her appeal to people in the party (and in the country) who share her convictions and resentments is profound...
"What does it say about the nature of modern American politics that a public official who often seems proud of what she does not know is not only accepted but applauded? What does her prominence say about the importance of having (or lacking) a record of achievement in public life? ''
Palin, who wouldn't talk to the writer, is writing her own account: With a book contract and a writer, Lynn, Vincent, a senior writer at World magazine, and a publication date next year with not only HarperCollins, but also Zondervan, the Bible-publishing house.
But "the caricature of Sarah Palin that emerged in the presidential campaign, for good and ill, is now ineradicable,'' Purdum writes. "The swift journey from her knockout convention speech to Tina Fey's dead-eyed incarnation of her as Dan Quayle with an updo played out in real time...
"It is an ironclad axiom of politics that if a campaign looks troubled from the outside the inside reality is far worse, and the McCain-Palin fiasco was no exception,'' writes Purdum, revealing some facts about the preparations of Palin as a candidate: Mark McKinnon, George W. Bush's handy media man, helped her prepare for the debate with Joe Biden. Matthew Scully, a Bush speechwriter, penned a concession speech for her on Election Night loaded in the TelePrompTer but preempted by John McCain's insistence that the losing camp, as was traditional, would be delivering but one speech.
"None of McCain's still-loyal soldiers will say negative things about Palin on the record,'' Purdum notes. "They all know that if their candidate--a 72-year-old cancer survivor--had won the presidency, the vice-presidency would be in the hands of a woman who lacked the knowledge, the preparation, the aptitude, and the temperament for the job.
"McCain has delivered his own postmortem on Palin with the patented brand of winking-and-nodding ironic detachment that he usually reserves for painful political questions, an approach that simultaneously seeks to confess his sin and presume absolution for it,'' he writes, noting that McCain omitted Palin's name when he reeled off a lineup of the party's 2012 prospects for Jay Leno.
Mark Salter, McCain's own co-writer and longtime aide, explained the candidate's comment for Purdum this way: "McCain always talks unscripted.''
Which is where Palin's political story stands today
Comments
Gee, I hope this biography is totally positive and make no criticism of Palin. The Republicans get sooooo upset when any coverage of Palin is at all critical. They will tolerate nothing less than deification of St. Sarah.
Posted by: Jake | June 30, 2009 11:19 AM
It's interesting to note the instructions 'anonymous comments will not be posted' but they can certainly form the basis of a story. None of these 'senior staff' people are willing to put thier names to these opinions.
Take a look at how Alaska is faring in the current crisis. Take a look at how my state of California is faring, or the U.S. as a whole. Capable is as capable does. I'd take the small government wisdom of Sarah Palin over the socialism of Brack Obama any day.
Posted by: William Shipley | June 30, 2009 11:43 AM
To Wm. Shipley: "Socialism" is more like redistributing oil-wealth revenues to Alaskans.
The word "wisdom" anywhere near the name "Sarah Palin" is jarring.
How is Alaska faring in the financial crisis? Alaska's financial sector consists of what, exactly? Not surprisingly, the hunting and fishing and oil sectors aren't doing too badly.
Posted by: jasperjava | June 30, 2009 12:11 PM
I have been a long time Democratic activist- Many of Sarah Palin's views are contrary to mine but for goodness sake- this women has been and continues to be destroyed by the media-Below is a Newsweek story from Oct. 2007 - praising her- Hard to find these pre-election stories, many have been scrubbed- but mostly they were glowing essays- until she had the audacity to run as VP against a part-time- although HARVARD educated- state senator recently turned US Senator- The press used her as their whipping post- and continues to try and make money by trashing her- Sexism?-Where was the constant reporting on Reverend Wright - didn't come out until after Obama won most of the caucuses and "HE WAS THE ONE" could do no wrong="Just Words" not plagiarism -just borrowed from a friend-Rzeko - no problem- We are The Ones We've Been Waiting For but Sarah from Alaska -who achieved her position without money or a husband to get her there- was an ideal target.
Would like someone to do a before and after story about the press- Palin became a threat and went from shining star of the GOP to dumber than dirt- This is the untold story- you can not tell any Democrat- including my friends that you don't Sarah is so bad- they will look at you like you're a moron- This is what the media has done for Americans- who now is dumber than dirt?
http://www.newsweek.com/id/42534/page/1
Now This Is Woman�s Work
There are more female governors in office than ever before, and they are making their mark with a pragmatic, postpartisan approach to solving state problems.. .In 1998, voters in a focus group were asked to close their eyes and imagine what a governor should look like. "They automatically pictured a man," says Barbara Lee, whose foundation promoting women's political advancement sponsored the survey. "The kind you see in those portraits hanging in statehouse hallways." They most certainly didn't visualize Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, a former beauty-pageant winner, avid hunter, snowmobiler and mother of four who was elected to her state's highest office last November. . .
In Alaska, Palin is challenging the dominant, sometimes corrupting, role of oil companies in the state's political culture. "
Posted by: bb | June 30, 2009 3:07 PM
bb- an article written during an elected official's honeymoon period is hardly likely to be accurate. It was less than 6 months after this article was printed (but prior to the VP selection) that all the "Where's Sarah?" buttons began to appear. Every mentor she has had beginning with her campaign for mayor through those who helped her become governor have soured on her. To me, this is a big blinking red light that something is just not right.
Posted by: Alison | June 30, 2009 4:31 PM
"Palin, who wouldn't talk to the writer, is writing her own account: With a book contract and a writer, Lynn, Vincent, a senior writer at World magazine, and a publication date next year with not only HarperCollins, but also Zondervan, the Bible-publishing house."
She's gonna go through lots of boxes of crayons.
Posted by: Tracy | June 30, 2009 5:33 PM
Jasper,
Do you want to put the highest ranking democratic woman in gov't against Gov. Palin in a debate?
My money would be on Palin to mop Pelosi all over the floor.
How you flatliners can insult Palin's lack of wisdom when you have Nancy Dimwit as Speaker.
Posted by: Terry | June 30, 2009 7:46 PM
And who is this Todd Purdum who disses the Republicans in Mark Silva's article?
A Democrat, of course. Who else would Mark Silva (or any other Democrat propagandist) quote? Purdum is a former NY Times reporter who's married to Dee Dee Myers, Bill Clinton's press secretary.
Mark, you simply can't get away with passing off Dem partisans as nonpartisan observors. Those days have passed.
Posted by: Bruce | June 30, 2009 8:01 PM
Yeah, we know who Todd Purdum is, one of the better writers who ever passed through the Times, and the good ones move on, edit magazines, write books, etc. Who they marry is their business. Tell me Mary Matalin is coopted because she is married to James Carville. Tell you whose time has passed: This nonsense of attacking the messenger when the message is too hard to take. Take some time, read the piece, criticize it. Drop the personal assaults and give us some substance here.
Posted by: Mark Silva | June 30, 2009 9:12 PM
I didn't know Purdom was married to Dee Dee Meyers. It all makes sense to me now. After Rush made his speech at CPAC - without a teleprompter - I saw Katie on Letterman in NY (we now know he is an Obama shill) and Dee Dee on Ferguson in CA and they both said THE VERY SAME THING ABOUT RUSH. I thought it was a coincidence but since then I've learned about Saul Alinsky's Rules for Radicals - especially #5: Ridicule the speaker to neutralize the message. Both women described Rush as fat and criticized his wearing a black shirt. They laughed at him. Then, I learned that Rosa DiLauro;s husband Stan Greenberg bragged that he, Rahm, Jim,David and George S talk to each other every morning. Jim's wife Mary called them gossips. Plus, Stan told about their plan to neutralize Rush that they developed in October and then enacted. Suddenly, all newspapers and networks were doing stories - well the same story actually - on Rush. So, Dee Dee and her husband - that explains why he wrote a hit piece on Palin. I wonder if Soros is paying for their time? He brags that he brought Bush down for a million dollars of his own money because Bush wouldn't admit that the US isn't a world power. Distribution of the wealth, power, and everything else that is ours. I doubt George will give up his money so that he is as poor as the rest of us after cap and trade and the other socialistic programs Obama has given us. I could use a loan. Why should I work?
Posted by: Linda Mae | July 1, 2009 1:28 AM
"Mark Silva" accusing someone of personal attacks--savor the irony!
In response to Mr. Silva's remarkably fact-free personal attack:
Is Mr. Purdum a Democrat? Yes, as a brief bit of research will prove. He's not just married to former Clinton aide Dee Dee Myers. He's registered as a Democrat voter in Washington DC. Do a couple minutes research in the online DC voters registration records, "Mark", before you make your claims.
As to Mr. Purdum's reliability as a reporter, I pass along the words of former President Bill Clinton, who described Purdum as "sleazy," "dishonest," "slimy", a "scumbag," and biased for Obama.
Drop the personal assaults, "Mark," and do some research instead.
Posted by: Bruce | July 1, 2009 8:48 AM
Tell you whose time has passed: This nonsense of attacking the messenger when the message is too hard to take. Take some time, read the piece, criticize it. Drop the personal assaults and give us some substance here.
Posted by: Mark Silva | June 30, 2009 9:12 PM
Then perhaps it's time for the Swamp to stop posting comments that attack the speaker because the commenter doesn't like the message. I'm no fan of Rush, but his treatment comes immediately to mind; "druggie Rush," "Limp" variations on his name. Also, any misspellings of "Republican," including those that substitute "g" for the "b," or simply shorten it to "pug." Similarly for variations on "Democrat," including "Dumbocrat," "DemocRAT," or simply "rat."
In other words, how about adhering to the Comments policy and fostering civil and constructive discourse, supported by facts and actual thought?
Also, who's Mary Natalin? Mary Matalin I've heard of, she's James Carville's wife, but Mary Natalin?
Posted by: DaveB | July 1, 2009 9:15 AM
DaveB: I like your idea a lot, have been thinking quite a bit lately about trying to rein in the uncivil. Drawing the line isnt always easy. As for you Bruce, we're still waiting for your critique of the article and getting beyond author- character defamation.
Posted by: Mark Silva | July 1, 2009 9:27 AM
Mark, some people (not me) might point out that your calling other people "character defamers" is in itself a personal attack--a defamation, if you will.
As to the Purdum article itself, others (for example, Eric Boehlert in the Leftist "Media Matters") have already pointed out how much the Purdum article cites unnamed, anonymous sources. These "sources" may or may not exist. Certainly readers can't judge their credibility. Perhaps a poster-attacking Swamp writer would spend his time better if he verified said sources, or researched the facts about the articles he writes.
As to Mr. Purdum, we're still waiting for you to admit the truth--that this GOP-bashing piece was written by a Democrat.
Posted by: Bruce | July 1, 2009 12:56 PM
Thank you for addressing the article. That's a valid critique -- and see what the reporting with the anonymous source has started in very public fashion.... top of the Swamp at the moment (If Purdum's a Democrat, he sure has gotten some Republicans talking.)
http://www.swamppolitics.com/news/politics/blog/2009/07/mccainpalin_campaign_wounds_re.html
Posted by: Mark Silva | July 1, 2009 1:19 PM
Knowing you as an all out Obama supporter, Mark, criticism of you, "the messenger," is not only appropriate but necessary for reference of where your bias comes from in all your articles. I encourage more of it, criticism of you that is. As for Purum's ideas about Palin being uniformed, that's laughable considering the stooges running our government now. Obama doesn't know anything except marxism, Biden is a joke everytime he speaks (but at least he's honest). And, Hillary is still trying to find a "reset" button that actually says RESET in Russian. Talk about dumb.
Posted by: Gary | July 10, 2009 6:22 PM
Mark, if you are, or were really serious about your concern for personal attacks, the perfect place to start would be with Sarah Palin, her under age daughters, her husband, her family, her son Trig, now wouldn't it Mark? Anybody attacking your children, if you have any? How about your momma? Get the point? YOU can't stand it when you post a little blog and somebody calls you out. Palin and her family were and still are brutalized by the media. I don't see you saying anything Mark...how about the politics of personal destruction; the frivolous ethic complaints that cost Alaska 2 million dollars to fight, and cost the Palins $500,000. Are you having to pay lawyers to defend yourself Mark?
Posted by: Gary | July 12, 2009 4:30 PM
Knowing you as an all out Obama supporter, Mark, criticism of you, "the messenger," is not only appropriate but necessary for reference of where your bias comes from in all your articles. I encourage more of it, criticism of you that is. As for Purum's ideas about Palin being uniformed, that's laughable considering the stooges running our government now. Obama doesn't know anything except marxism, Biden is a joke everytime he speaks (but at least he's honest). And, Hillary is still trying to find a "reset" button that actually says RESET in Russian. Talk about dumb.
Posted by: Gary | July 12, 2009 4:53 PM