Sarah Palin lost me when...

It may be silly to write another article about Sarah Palin. On the other hand, unfortunately, we may be seeing more of Palin than we prefer in the years ahead. She seems delusional enough to think she might have a shot at the White House in 2012.

Personally, I think it's more likely to see a Florida dolphin perched on the Arctic ice than Palin on the Repugnican ticket in 2012 or any year thereafter. She's made too many enemies, for one thing, and has shown in various ways, she is simply not of presidential timber.


But Sarah lost me shortly after she began her speech to the Republican Convention. It was the sneer and then the words to the effect that the mayor of an itty-bitty town in Alaska has actual responsibilities while community organizers in the massive metropolis of Chicago do not.

When she spoke the line and chortled to the crowd, a shiver ran up and down my spine. This is not a nice person, I thought. This is a person who has no problem with 1) lying through her teeth, 2) misrepresenting herself and her achievements, 3) taking any action necessary to realize her goals.

It was a totally unnecessary statement, and it was false. In fact, it was so demonstrably false, that, as I recall, Obama never responded to it. If you've ever worked with community organizations of any kind, you know well the responsibilities involved.

Meanwhile, Palin's performance as mayor of Wasilla left much to be desired. She transformed the office of mayor into a partisan position, creating much bitterness in the community. She used the mayor's office in her efforts to move up in Alaska's politics. When she first took office, Wasilla was a small town comprised of folks who lived in friendly and close proximity. The town had no debt and most people liked it that way.

But Sarah had plans. Big plans. To promote Sarah. By the time she left office, Wasilla had grown like a field of weeds out of control, featuring an assortment of strip centers and big box stores. People were frustrated and divided and the town was saddled with close to $30 million of debt.


One of the things a mayor or a governor or a president never wants to do is leave their town, state, or country worse off than it was when he/she took office.

Sarah didn't seem to care.

So, even if you believed that a mayor of this teency town of 7,000 folks or so had "real" responsibilities as opposed to someone working directly with and for people in the hard-knock neighborhoods of Chicago, this mayor failed in those responsibilities.

Sarah Palin left behind a town some say was trashed and a trail of tears.


But, she really lost me when she snorted and sneered at a man who was going about doing good in his community.

Sarah Palin has no class.