2012- Year of the Palin? Let’s Hope Not.

Could everybody’s favourite gun-loving, hockey mom/governor from Alaska become President in the future? Is the Rambo-wannabe capable to live up to the expectations it entails? At the very least, it would be a very interesting plot for a biographical film!

By Jonathan Bruce

2008 was an important for both Democrats and Republicans in the United States of America last year. It would be George W. Bush’s last year as President, but it was also the year that then-Senator Barack Obama announced his candidacy for the White House. In addition, Senator John McCain revealed his running mate would be little-known Alaskan governor Sarah Palin.

Criticism and questions surfaced as McCain’s choice was announced, because Palin was not well known outside of Alaska and the American Northwest. She was already known for the Gravina Island Bridge project, which spent more than $20 million in federal funding before being cancelled. To add insult to injury, she changed her “pro-bridge stance”, which upset fellow Alaskan government members. Then, a series of revelations came to surface that sparked controversy- Palin holding off on giving birth to her son Trig until she got into an Alaskan delivery room, her teenage daughter Bristol was pregnant, etc.

Pro-life and disability groups have praised Palin for her open stance on the rights for the handicapped, but others have criticized her for frequently using the topic of Trig and bringing him to political rallies as a “sympathy card.” Various political journalists questioned her ability to act as Vice-President and a mother. John Roberts noted that “Children with Down’s syndrome require an awful lot of attention. The role of vice president, it seems to me, would take up an awful lot of her time, and it raises the issue of how much time will she have to dedicate to her newborn child?”

Yes, she has her husband Todd look after their children, but the question of her being up to the multi-tasking responsibilities of government and motherhood is debatable.

In an interview, Matt Damon summed up the image that Palin presents to America (and to an extent, the world): “It’s like a really bad Disney movie. The hockey mom, you know, ‘Oh, I’m just a hockey mom… and she’s facing down President Putin… It’s totally absurd… it’s a really terrifying possibility. I need to know if she really thinks that dinosaurs were here 4,000 years ago. I want to know that, I really do. Because she’s gonna have the nuclear codes.” It also brings to mind the fact that the 71-year old McCain is advanced in his age. Suppose he did win the Presidency and pass away, it would be President Palin in his place.

Palin is somewhat outspoken in regards to Obama’s plans for the Affordable Health Choices Act. On her Facebook page, she declared Obama’s “death panel” to be a life-threatening to her son and other disabled Americans. Pure over-the-top melodrama. Not only was the remark absurd and inappropriate in the words it used, it was also greatly inaccurate on several counts. In addition, she threatened to sue any media outlet that printed any material she considered to be slander on her or her family.

Aside from the pregnant daughter controversy, Palin does not have a good record in fulfilling her commitments. Less than a year after the Presidential election, she held a press conference at her residence in August 2009 to reveal that she was stepping down as Governor of Alaska. What was the reason? In her own words, it was due to her desire not to “hunker down and go with the flow”.

The people want a Presidential candidate that can make good on his or her promises, but could Palin pull through as President and not give up for it being “too hard” ? Currently, she is making the rounds of the political circuit and promoting her new memoir “Going Rogue” on talk shows around America. In the book, she blasts McCain and his people for sticking her with the wardrobe bill and leaving her to be attacked by critics. Essentially, the memoir appears to be a complaint about McCain.

Aside from the predicted end-of-the-world scenario taking place, the only real negative thing we have to look forward to in 2012 is the possibility that Sarah Palin could run for the Presidency. If they do a movie about her life, I just hope that someone like Tina Fey of 30 Rock is cast as her.

Jonathan Bruce is a volunteer columnist with the Baron.