Raw data: A cautionary tale
6 hours ago
Sunday, July 5, 2009
Sarah Palin
There has been a lot of comment about Sarah Palin's recent unexpected announcement that she was going to resign as governor of Alaska. It seems to me that her troubles illustrate one of the downsides of affirmative action. Picked by McCain in large part because she was a woman it appears she was in over her head from the start. You are not doing people a favor when you push them into a position where they have little chance to succeed.
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Interesting observation.
ReplyDeleteThough something tells me, if Sarah Palin was not Sarah Palin but a more compliant/appeasing version of a woman, everything else being same, had she received more support, she might have grown into her role and been potentially very successful. In fact, I have been personally impressed how that woman was doing in such rough waters given her youth, background, and inexperience. Not apologizing for what USA have done to the world is just not in these days so she really had no chance.
Whether Sarah Palin could have been a compliant, appeasing woman and whether it might have helped her success rate, or whether McCain used her for his own political purposes is not really the point. The fact that she was a candidate in a national election will stay in the minds of voters the next time a woman is nominated. Often groundbreakers, such as Palin in this case, get no benefit from changing society's perceptions.
ReplyDeleteI like that thought :)
ReplyDeleteAlthough Sarah Palin's appearance on the Republican national ticket may be an example of a downside of affirmative action, her election as governor is an example of something else: a flaw in the thinking of the Alaskan electorate, by which the candidate's emotional attractions trump her intellectual shortcomings. The same flaw on the national level gave us eight years of George Bush the younger.
ReplyDeleteAs for Palin being a groundbreaker, let us not forget Geraldine Ferraro, who in 1984 became the first woman to run for vice-president as the candidate of a major political party.
[The following is the comment of a friend, who has no Google account but wanted to get a word in.]
ReplyDeleteDon't underestimate Sarah Palin. I'm sure that she enjoyed her time in the national spotlight and has no intention of leaving the national scene. How many of the rest of you have also received a fund appeal from what appears to be a national organization with the goal of promoting the national political career of Ms. Palin? Unfortunately I threw it out; so I have no documentation.
"her election as governor is an example of ... flaw in the thinking of the ... electorate"
ReplyDeleteIt amazes me how common this type of conclusion is, particularly among apparently educated --and by implication in some sense to be seen as intelligent-- people. I am surrounded by them and hear this type of comment 9 out of 10 times.
Their ingenuity in science, math, engineering,and what not, probably predisposes people to go for it and describe an election result in a most functional democracy in the world (quote me on that, in fact I will send you a handwritten certificate in 5 copies of that)as flawed because they simply disagree with its outcome.
Please, could it be that you are wrong on this one and people actually do prefer someone who does what they say they believe in (be it Bush or Palin) as opposed to flipping sides as convenient?
Btw, remember those NYT smartasses predicting new attacks and doom just a matter of months or a few years, right after Sept. 11? Our sophisticated fellow citizens of this country should kiss Bush's ass for him protecting theirs for 8 years.
oTUHV59... provides us with an example of the flawed thinking to which I referred: That a candidate acts on his beliefs is rightly deemed important, but apparently what those beliefs may be is not important enough even to be mentioned. Judging by the results of Bush's administration, he must believe in initiating unnecessary wars, illegally infringing civil liberties, and leading the economy into ruin.
ReplyDeleteAlso, just what measures did Bush supposedly take to protect our backsides that both (1) actually were effective and (2) were unlikely to have been taken by the candidates that he defeated, had they been elected?
Okay boys, play nice.
ReplyDeleteThe fact is that we need to spend more time concentrating on the two wars we are involved in, the economy, the bank failures, the recession, swine flu, the high unemployment rates and the miserable condition of the housing market. I'd like to see someone suggest some positive ways that we as individuals could help solve these problems.