Sarah Palin's credentials have been questioned and defended countless times in the past (can you believe it?) two-and-a-half months. One of those credentials is her intelligence. The truth is people cannot possibly gather her true intelligence, so they just look for cultural markers of intelligence -- her accent, her attractiveness, her personal convictions all weighing against her. I say this, mind you, full aware of my own heart's tendency to stereotype and cast her aside.
That's why it's helpful to hear an account of someone who's been a little closer to her than any of us have. Elaine Lafferty, a Democrat and former editor-in-chief of Ms. magazine (!!), gives a positive assessment of Palin's intelligence and native ability. While she's at it, she rebukes the cannabilizing comments of many feminists who hurt their cause in the comments about Palin.
Read it in full here. (HT: Middlebrow)
(And, just so you don't think I'm being self-serving, remember my positive comments about Bill Ayers a few weeks ago.)
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3 comments:
Eh... I hear you, but here's the problem. I don't judge her on looks, accent, OR personal convictions. Actually, I like all three of those things and initially called this an absolutely brilliant pick for McCain.
But here's my problem- she honestly cannot answer a fairly straightforward question with a clear answer. Time and again, simple questions have caused her to go of on long rambles that never seem to address the issue at hand.
I like her a lot more than McCain, and think she is likely an excellent governor. However, that inability to answer simple questions makes it very hard for me to trust her. Though I like her, I will not be supporting her for President in 2012. Go Bobby Jindal!
Still, I appreciate the article and think you are correct to say that she has been unfairly villainized in the media for being a conservative woman.
Your point is a good one. It will take a great deal for Palin to undo her interview performances over these past months. Personally, I wonder if she's a character like President Bush -- reporters talk about how personable and capable Bush is one-on-one, but he's so horrible in front of a crowd of reporters.
This doesn't mean his dumb, like a real live SNL character. I don't care what anybody says, he must be intelligent. You can't become President without a modicum of intelligence. But his intelligence just doesn't come across in an interview.
Yeah, I agree with you. Bush has been a way better public servant than he is given credit for (I'll have a post up on the www.christand popculture.com blog on this topic tomorrow), and I think he is a very intelligent man, albeit more instinctual than articulate. Palin is likely very much the same, because she's done a terrific job in Alaska. It still makes it hard to trust her, but I definitely think the fact that she's been painted as a moron is unfair and untrue.
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