Thursday, September 29, 2011

Titles, Shackles, Decisions, and Respect

Many so-called supporters of Gov. Palin are aghast that she suggested a title could shackle and take away her freedom. There's quite a bit of "she owes us," "she's not running," and "she better run" being thrown around the comment boards on all the Palin sites.

Our Support is of Our Own Free Will

Nothing in her statements with Greta Van Susteren Tuesday night indicated a GO/NO GO on a POTUS run - nothing that is, except words that supporters who should know better put in her mouth. We want Gov. Palin to run for President and have been egging her on for three years now. Many of us wanted her to run when wanting her to run was "not cool." We supported her knowing that she might not run. Second, no one forced anyone to support Gov. Palin. She did not extort, bribe, con, or cajole our support. We gave it willingly of our own volition. She does not owe us anything and people who think they're owed need to get over it and get over themselves - especially those who think they did so much that she owes them a paid position. For those "supporters" who didn't get the memo, Gov. Palin is not for sale, does not run a pay-to-play operation and is not a crony capitalist.

Respecting Gov. Palin's Decision-Making Process

Third, Gov. Palin will make her decision on her terms after carefully considering all the factors, including - and especially - whether she can be more effective doing what she does now, or more effective campaigning for - and hopefully - winning the Presidency. Support means respecting her decision whatever it may be. It's mind-boggling that some of the same supporters who want her to run for President and announce right now are ready to jump ship if she doesn't do things their way and on their schedule. We're back to some people needing to get over themselves.

Gov. Palin Will Not Tip Her Hand

Fourth, Gov. Palin made a promise on at least four different occasions to a local Alaskan radio show that they would be the first to know of her decision to run or not. Every interviewer on Fox News has tried to get Gov. Palin to tip her hand or announce on their shows in practically every airing over the past nine months. They have asked just about every permutation and combination of the same question. I learned to expect it long ago when watching these shows to write my synopses. This was discussed at length in Gov. Palin's September 12 interview with Greta Van Susteren where she said she was tired of "giving the same dopey answers" to the 2012 question. Gov. Palin does not break promises and she is not going to betray her own confidence. Newbies are not expected to know this, but veteran supporters should know better. This should be old news to any long-time supporter of Gov. Palin's. Fox News is simply not going to be the first place of her announcement. Bob and Mark is.

Gov. Palin's Actions Suggest a POTUS Run

Fifth, Gov. Palin's actions over the past year point squarely to a POTUS run. The epic Facebook Note to the 2010 Congress was a 16-paragraph Presidential position paper. She traveled to India and Israel and is set to travel to South Korea. In her travels, she met with heads of state. She hired a chief of staff, replaced her prior neo-con foreign policy advisers with a Reagan Conservative, developed five-point military and economic policies, and conducted bus tours in the Northeast and Midwest. She has developed substantive and sophisticated policies on health care, national security, quantitative easing, and entitlement reform. She has thrice been to Iowa in as many months. She has withstood the harshest media scrutiny of any candidate in well over 100 years. These are not the actions of a high-profile activist who just wants to make noise and money. The people who are latching on to the "title/shackle" line and getting ready to jump out of windows missed the other line which clearly indicates a possible intent to run:
“I would not have gone this far if I didn’t think I could beat [Obama].”
I don't think she has beer summits in mind and Gov. Palin does not play golf.

About Those Titles and Shackles

Gov. Palin knows full well what she can do without a title versus what she can do with one. She only has a couple of decades experience. She also knows very well what could happen to her influence if she chooses not to run. But, Gov. Palin understands that yes, a title can shackle. She's been there and done that. The matter of handlers trying to mold and shape Gov. Palin would probably not be much of an issue during the primary campaign. After all, she would be the boss. If handlers try to insult her intelligence, Gov. Palin could simply show them the door and tell the handlers in question to go handle themselves. The general election is where she could lose that autonomy. The GOP establishment would be an integral part of a Palin campaign (or anyone else's for that matter) and could make demands that she would have to comply with as a condition of their support. Remember that George H.W. Bush was not President Reagan's choice for Vice President. The party forced his hand. Gov. Palin has intimate and extensive knowledge of this having been McCain's running mate. She knows what goes on in national campaigns, because she was in one. Her heart-felt concern is legitimate. Gov. Palin is a stateswoman and a citizen public servant. She is not a machine politician. Absent a title, Gov. Palin enjoys unbridled freedom to shape the political debate on her terms, but quite possibly with much less influence. The next title gives her the ability to sign or veto legislation and treaties, and make decisions about war and peace - that is lead this nation.

The Summons and Finishing Some Unfinished Business

Gov. Palin is carefully considering this for all the right reasons. She's not pursuing a title or power. She knows the Presidency is a calling. She knows she's been summoned. It's public service and sacrifice. She wants to do what's right for this country and discharge the duties of that office unbeholden to anyone. Yes, we want her to run. None of the other candidates possess a single one of her leadership traits. The others simply fail to inspire. But, we cannot let our zeal for her running turn into petulant demands, whining that "she owes us," and putting words in her mouth she never said. It was NJ Gov. Chris Christie who said he was not running on Tuesday night, not Gov. Palin. Gov. Palin knows that if she runs, failure is not an option. There's also an historic element should she run that amplifies failure not being an option. You see, Geraldine Ferraro and Hillary Clinton left some unfinished business. Somehow, I think Gov. Palin is going to show little girls of this country exactly what they can do...

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