Where in the world is Sarah Palin?

It is well known that Sarah Palin became a commentator on Fox News in January 2010. I was initially excited and thought it was a really shrewd move for Palin. I am not sure this was a good idea now for either Palin or Fox.

I need to back up a bit so what I write about Palin from here on out will be comprehended by those who can't see straight when they even hear the words "Sarah Palin." I, like every other American, had never heard of Sarah Palin before she was announced as John McCain's running mate in the last election. My first reaction was "oh great, he played the gender card." I'm so tired of politicians thinking that I as a woman vote because of someone's gender, color or wardrobe choice. I had originally wanted Mitt Romney to be the Republican candidate for president so I was HOPING that McCain would choose him. Then, I could at least vote for half the ticket instead of for the lesser of two evils.

I thought Obama would smartly pick Hillary Clinton—which would have been a slam dunk for the progressives. But Obama's ego is so huge, he chose the very demographic the left has contempt for—the bumbling, middle-aged, non threatening, white, career politician—Joe Biden and offered Hillary Secretary of State so she couldn't run against him later—unless of course, she quit. Can't wait to see what happens in 2012. Talk about the antithesis of "change." Because Obama left the door open for a game change (no reference to the book), McCain picked a complete unknown which eventually catapulted an unsuspecting Palin into the stratosphere. The rest is history.

With no opinion on Palin to begin with, I watched the entire process from beginning to end. Once she spoke at the convention, she became my candidate of choice—McCain was just the other guy on the ticket. I wanted her in the White House and, well, if McCain was there too, well then that would be okay. My vote was going to be FOR Palin. The more the media and the left eviscerated her and the more real and direct she was in responding to the vitriol, the more I was impressed. She was nonplussed and unflappable during the entire campaign.

In June 2009, I was driving from Texas to California with my father when she came on the radio and announced her resignation as governor. We both listened to the speech live. She never uses a teleprompter. The woman speaks from the heart. I was not disappointed, nor fazed by her decision. It made perfect sense to me that she would act in the people's best interests and save Alaska from the outrageous costs associated with the overwhelming amount of frivolous lawsuits and investigations aimed at discrediting her, her family, and bankrupting her, her family and making it impossible for her to get back to the business of governing.

One only need to see this woman making moose stew with young children circulating around her in the kitchen while talking to Greta Van Susteren to GET how real, competent, bright, capable and smart Sarah Palin was. Refreshing doesn't even begin to describe how those of us who "get" Sarah Palin feel about her.

I do not hold Sarah Palin's religious views, was disheartened to learn that her teenage daughter was pregnant, and disappointed that she didn't assert herself on both the now infamous Katie Couric and Charles Gibson interviews. HOWEVER, in every other interview and/or rally, and any other place where a camera was stuck in her face, she was consistent, direct, honest, up front, gracious, articulate and her record popularity in Alaska (which I studied) preceded ALL of the ensuing controversy—meaning that she was doing great things while no one was looking. For that, I admire her. I bought her book, Going Rogue, the day it came out (bought one for dad, another one for a military hero and have mine on loan to a neighbor at present time) and read it within a few days. Funny when you read something "new" while the media is "reviewing" the book. The views on MSNBC were unbelievable—a whiner! For the record, Sarah Palin does not whine. Chris Matthews whines. Rachel Maddow scowls. Keith Olbermann condescends.

Palin addressed EVERY single issue during the campaign and then some in this well written, thorough book. And Sarah Palin is NO victim. She is a triple threat—a married, in love, mother of 5, one with special needs, and one who is an American hero. She is a competitive athlete and feminine at the same time. She is over 40. She wears glasses and makes them look sexy. She looks just as beautiful in a yellow fishing suit as she does in a business suit. She speaks with a midwestern accent, leaves "gs' off of "ing" words and occasionally says "crap" on TV. Bring it on. We need more of that and less of the "dazzle you with my big word "bull--it" the politicians spew as truth from their bullypulpits. The truth is that "thinking" Americans don't believe any of it anymore.

All this being said, after reading, seeing, watching all of the far left continue to tear her apart limb by limb long after she resigned LAST June, it was an exciting announcement to hear she would join the Fox News team. I thought that this was an excellent move—at first!

The first interview with Bill O'Reilly was okay at best. However, I immediately noticed that she did not seem to have the same "fire within her belly" during that interview that she had as a candidate. The next interview was with Glenn Beck. This highly anticipated "first meeting" was held in a sterile room "Barbara Walters" style in front of the Statue of Liberty.

Beck was original in that he finally asked her some questions that were NEW but I would have loved to see her on his set at the table with an energetic exchange between both. It was silent and almost sterile, and a bit awkward. Beck is best at the blackboard. I, and so many Americans, I'm sure, are also so tired of the questions about her intelligence, Levi Johnson and discerning whether she reads or not. Beck did a great job in asking some new questions. The best moment was in her revelation that she was studying up on the details of the Statue of Liberty, expecting to be asked about that. Thank you NBC for ensuring that only the most important questions are asked of a candidate so they have a "phone-a-friend" available during an interview. But, again, I didn't find Palin to be as relaxed and engaging as she was when repeatedly interviewed during the election process. Since then, she has virtually disappeared from Fox.

I have been eagerly awaiting seeing her featured in the segments that regularly include Newt Gingrich, Karl Rove, Monica Crowley and the like. But no Sarah. The last time I saw her was during the State of the Union on a split screen. Unlike the distinguished bluescreen backgrounds featuring other Fox remote broadcasters, it looked like she was commenting from a poorly lit office of her home. Even her makeup and hair from the famous in studio Fox makeup/hair folks haven't had her looking as coiffed as Megyn Kelly, Gretchen Carlson and Kimberly Guillfoyle. I am left wondering whether Fox regrets hiring her and also if Palin regrets being hired.

Former presidential candidate, Mike Huckabee, has managed to create a successful show on Fox during the past year or two. I remember that his first show was awkward as well. It took a few times for him to hit his stride. It remains to be seen if Palin or Fox is really certain of where they are headed in this venture—remember, OTHERS are saying she wants to run for president in 2010—she has never said that and she also admitted freely in her book that stepping down as governor might be the nail in the coffin for a future run for any major political office. Sarah Palin is at her best when she is speaking on an issue that she is passionate about. Where she falls short is in the expanded use of her vocabulary. She uses the phrase "common sense solutions" far too much. This redundancy doesn't serve her well. Unfortunately, the use of the word "uncomfortableness" during the O'Reilly interview made even me cringe—if she had just laughed about it and said "was that a word?" THAT would have been quintessential Palin and disarmed her critics, but she is seeming quite stiff these days, almost afraid to show any of her human side. It is unfortunate but I understand the road she has had to travel.

But if you're going to run with the big dogs on Fox, you've got to be able to present well, vary your vocabulary and hit a home run. Otherwise, you're going to be a very easy target for Olbermann and Matthews. Not that anyone is watching them of course, but why give them any material?

I am now left wondering if Sarah Palin will suddenly disappear from Fox. If she "quits," it will be a very bad thing for her going forward. If she is fired from Fox, it will be worse. For now, I remain hopeful but am sadly disappointed in her broadcasts to date. I still believe in what she stands for and that she is an excellent representative for the average American family. I believe she shows tremendous integrity in governing. I just don't know if she is cut out to be a pundit. If these first few broadcasts don't give way to something more substantive, meaty and powerful, she may fade back into the landscape once again. That would be most unfortunate. Perhaps her keynote speech at the upcoming Tea Party Convention will once again remind people of her ability to lead, connect and inspire.

Strange Brew—Tea Party Controversy!

Oh so predictable and so unfortunate! On the eve of the first national Tea Party Convention set for later this month, we now have a storm brewing over the founder's integrity. Apparently, this stems from him forming a "for profit" organization and charging guests upward of $500 to attend. Two prominent conservative policitians have backed out but the steadfast Sarah Palin is vowing to continue to be the keynote speaker (at least at press time). How will the drama end?

As this is my second post, and I've had a few days to think about my new foray into the blog-0-sphere, I want to proactively state that my blogs are going to be based on two "O"s—Osmosis and Opinion. As a mother of 4 young boys, it is not my intention to spend 12 hours a day researching, fact checking, wordsmithing, creating extensive bibliographies of support for my claims, remembering everyone's name involved in the stories, nor finding really big collegiate words to prove how academically gifted I am. I often have to write and dash—in the real world, there are diapers to be changed and dinner to be made. And I think I want to be REAL, REFRESHING and REFLECT how the "average" American with a lot on their plate FEELS without having to censor those feelings for fear of not having written a "practically perfect in every way" paragraph.

I will surely dangle participles, mangle a "syll—aaaable" as a past president once said, and probably err in punctuation as well. I may even hit "post" in mid-sentence. When my book Eats, Shoots, and Leaves (I haven't figured out how to underline a book title here yet!) is not nearby and I can't reach for my thesaurus, I may be redundant with both adjectives and transitions. But I hope as time goes on, practice will improve my witicisms and that brevity will replace what, for now, will be some lengthy starter blogs! I also hope to improve on digression—which I have just done once again! Sorry, it comes with age.

Okay, back to the topic—we were discussing the tea party controversy! I consider myself a founding tea partier, meaning I have BEEN to a tea party—the first tea party. I did not jump on the bus and attend them all summer long. But I watched with admiration as the movement grew. Before anyone knew what they were, how they would be received, before Sarah Palin and Michelle Bachman became outspoken supporters, there were many naysayers. Some of these people have now become the tea party's fair weather friends after sitting back and watching what these brave, every day Americans endured all spring and summer long last year to emerge as a REAL and persuasive force in this country. Now these former naysayers are not only excited to throw tea in the harbor but they want to take the helm of the ship too.

I remain for now, a supporter of Sarah Palin, though I have witnessed as of late some things that give me pause. I will write a blog about the "whys" later. However, that being said, I noted immediately when she was named as the keynote for this first event in 2010, that it did not serve the tea party to have at its center, a "famous" person BECAUSE it may become future fodder for the far left to increase their discrediting of this movement as NOT grass roots or "from" the people. To the uneducated, this lapse in judgment will provide the very thin shred of evidence that somehow this has always been a "well funded machine" if someone like Palin, who is NOW a rock star, is seen as its leader. It is a shame to me that this noble group of American citizens like myself has begun to allow the Republican party to lay claim that "they were always with the tea party people." I know from being there that it was Glenn Beck and Sean Hannity and VERY few others at its humble debut in April 2009. Governor Rick Perry did attend the tea party in Austin where he made his now infamous "we can secede" speech—did you know he didn't actually say "Texas could secede?" but you know how the media spin goes. But most Republicans wrote off the tea partiers as "crazy, white, racist, middle aged, angry, uneducated, extremists." By the way, I will admit that I said Texas could secede at the tea party I attended in San Antonio, while being interviewed by college students doing a documentary on the historic event. Of course, I said it in jest. My words were something like "if it gets too crazy here, Texas can always secede" but if I run for office someday, you can bet that this clip will be shown in a political ad to discredit my intelligence and/or mental stability.

I remember broadcasts following the first tea parties where both Newt Gingrich AND Karl Rove dismissed the tea partiers as a fringe movement and said that they were a "small" portion of the population. CNN and MSNBC didn't even mention the tea parties and when covering them later in the week, completely maligned the people as "Nazi" freaks or "nutjobs.". LIFE Magazine and all of the "year in review" issues of 2009 magazines didn't even feature a single photograph of this historic movement. This now makes me wonder what was NOT in my elementary school history textbooks. Anyone who does NOT see the media bias as of 2009, literally has their head in east and west coast sand. To see how suddenly things have changed just strengthens the resolve in those of us who are watching our government and media representatives for any signs of integrity—I can say that I haven't truly found anyone I can FULLY count on yet. But I have been watching certain programs that have been very consistent and have also been reading books written by and/or endorsed by people who SEEM worthy of my trust so far. Time will tell.

Now, I can't speak to why the founder for this convention made this group a "for profit" organization but on the surface, I don't see what the issue is here. If you're going to attend a convention, there are costs involved. If this "real" American citizen has given his time, effort and creativity to organizing a mass group of people, I don't see where the problem is in him making a profit. After all, if we support capitalism, creating jobs and employing Americans is a good thing, right?

I don't know where this notion that it is distasteful to earn money has come from. Everyone who has been a president in recent memory is WEALTHY yet runs on being the "common man." C'mon, America. This is ridiculous. We all know they're rich, privileged, Ivy Leage educate, upper class, connected. We know the white house is bought and paid for—that's WHY we're outraged. However, that doesn't mean that someone who legitimately starts something from nothing should not earn a buck for it, do we? That's the spirit of entrepreneurialism. My gosh, for all of the torture inflicted on you for standing up to our tyrannical government, you SHOULD be paid for your trouble. You don't expect the Obama administration to support the tea party movement with government grants, do you? Naw, that's only if you're a running a mosque funneling funds into Pakistan training camps—note, that is a joke, Ariana!

Next, much has been made about Sarah Palin receiving upwards of $125,000 to speak at this event. Again, how much do Bill Clinton and Barack Obama get paid at fundraising dinners? My understanding—call me naive—is that Sarah Palin is channeling much of her profits from both her book and speaking engagements into a PAC that will be used to effect change in Washington. Where is the conflict of interest here?

Lastly, as for Michelle Bachman (and the other representative's) decision to back out, I don't know enough here to know what I don't know. Perhaps there is a statute that forbids sitting leaders to attend for-profit rallies in Tennesse. It is probably purely political and that brings me back to integrity. Motives are being scrutinized by Americans. If this backout was done to get elected in 2010, we the people aren't going to buy it. But if it was for purely altruistic or noble reasons, then we will support it. The one thing I know is this. The enemies of the tea party movement are always looking for reasons to divide and discredit this group. But they can't. We are the silent majority. And we wait. We watch Nancy Pelosi threaten to stuff our mouths full of cake and we just can't wait for November 2010 when finally, we can feed it to her on her way out the door. She can give part of that cake to Barbara Boxer and Maxine Waters. Nancy should love this—after all, it's redistribution.

This tea party convention controversy is a lot of tempest in a pot of tea.

This group is unique and is the party of LIMITED GOVERNMENT. The leadership needs to come from within and should be led by an almost reluctant or unknown outsider—someone like a Captain "Sully"—an accidental hero. I also believe that values need to trump ideology and that religious dogma and abortion views have no place in this new party OF THE PEOPLE. Americans are tired of BOTH majority parties. It does not serve the Tea Party movement to align itself with either one. As a tea party attendee, the reason we went was to communicate en masse to the U.S. Government that "we the people" are tired of them not understanding that they work for US on BOTH sides of the aisle.

Editor's Note: You remember the days when you were asked to write "two pages" double spaced and you couldn't figure out how to fill up the page? I don't have those days. I have SO much on my mind, I could write a book in a week if were able to lock myself in a hotel room. But I make a promise that for blogging purposes, I am really, really going to try to get concise. It goes against my philosophy that if you can't say it in a few words, it probably needs to be restated simpler! But for now, the venting continues. I'll hit my stride. Just be thankful I didn't author the healthcare bill—it might be 3,000 pages! :) Off to have some Earl Grey.