Regardless of your political agenda, Sarah Palin is right, there has indeed been a change in climate towards American politicians. Palin resigned as Governor of Alaska and spoke of how “a real climate change began in August” and how her treatment by the media has negatively affected Alaskans as a “superficial, wasteful, political bloodsport.”
Upon first seeing the resignation coverage, even I wondered why Tina Fey was continuing to beleaguer Palin with her spot-on impersonation. After a few minutes I realized only Andy Samberg would have the gall to produce a Saturday Night Live skit of this length and settled in to watch Palin defer her duties to Republican Lieut. Governor Shawn Parnell.
Maybe it was Palin herself who conjured the surreal environment in American politics. From her Katie Couric interview debacle, to her aerial hunting antics, to her strong stance on abstinence despite her daughter’s teen pregnancy, Sarah Palin is an easy target. And while Hollywood definitely took its share of jabs at the now former Governor, it’s the internet that ignited the tournament of torment.
In 2008, Palin Halloween costume posts were extremely popular, a NYC bar saw record customers for their widely promoted Palin drag show and BoingBoing even featured a Hustler film touting a Palin lookalike.
While last year’s election would not have been dull, it appears that Sarah Palin and her many iterations were the internet’s comic relief in an environment that might have otherwise been staunch. In fact, Palin took the brunt of ridicule on the Republican side while John McCain only came under scrutiny for his advanced age.
So the question remains, did Americans turn out to polls in record numbers because of their wholehearted belief in Barack Obama, or was a portion of that due to a mainstream distaste for Sarah Palin?
Said Palin in her resignation speech, “You are naive right now if you don’t see a full court press from the national level picking away right now – a good point guard. Here’s what she does, she drives through a full court press, protecting the ball… she knows exactly when to pass the ball so that the team can win. And that’s exactly what I’m doing…”
Michael Jordan was a great point guard and he didn’t quit the first time to help the Chicago Bulls, he quit to pursue a Minor League baseball career. When Palin says she’s going to “make a positive difference from outside the Governor’s office,” do you think she’s going to launch a presidential campaign, land a talk show deal or do something else?
