(AP Photo/ Al Grillo)
Sarah Palin officially stepped down from the Alaska governorship in Fairbanks on Sunday in a farewell speech which was geared more toward the lower forty-eight states than it was to her fellow Alaskans. Despite the fact that Palin plans to write a book and to campaign for other politicians who hold her conservative views, this speech was clearly the unofficial launch of Sarah Palin’s candidacy for President of the United States.
Palin doesn’t seem too concerned that the criticism about her lack of experience will be intensified should the former governor seek the presidency, or the fact that a new campaign would spark the same type of scrutiny which she claimed was partly responsible for her decision to step down as governor. Although Palin has dismissed the idea about a presidential run, an analysis of her speech reveals otherwise. Although the speech itself was occasionally rambling and full of the same hokey, small-town speak we have come to expect from Palin, her words were carefully crafted to set the stage for opposing President Obama in 2012.
The speech (video) was intended to bid farewell to Alaska and to reflect upon Palin's accomplishments, and portions of the address were dedicated to this purpose; however, the speech also contained a clear, principled strategy which clearly targets Americans who are growing more frustrated with the Obama presidency. For example, some themes featured in this address included family, prosperity, individualism, freedom, democracy, and the founding fathers. She further appealed to the conservative base by criticizing the media for failing to live up to its responsibilities, boasting that she rejected Obama’s stimulus package, and warning against the dangers of big government.
The farewell address of Sarah Palin reads better than it sounds, for the now former governor of Alaska is not the skilled orator of Barack Obama; however, the power of Palin is undeniable and she clearly offers a segment of the electorate a message unlike that of any other major public figure. More importantly, Palin offers conservative Republicans and Democrats a voice which they have been without for far too long. Unassuming, unapologetic, and unpolished, Sarah Palin has poured the foundation for her presidential campaign. Three years from now, Palin’s ability to connect with the neglected conservative base will be far more important to those who feel disenfranchised from the establishment than whether or not she finished her term as governor. Depending on the course of events in the Obama presidency, conservatives may not be the only voters thirsting for small-town American politics in 2012.
More information: Video of Sarah Palin's farewell speech in Fairbanks. Sarah Palin's Political Action Committee. Video of Sarah Palin's speech at the 2008 Republican National Convention.
Brian Mark Weber is a professor of United States History at American Military University and professor of English at Anne Arundel Community College. He holds an MA degree in Military History, an MA degree in English Literature, and a BA degree in American History and English. Brian welcomes your comments! For more information, you are invited to visit www.brianmarkweber.com.
Comments
Sarah Palin in 2012. My god, what a landslide victory that would be for the opposition. Nominate the quitter. She's already a joke and she has several years to reveal more of her uneducated dimwittedness.
With such a man in office now, ANYONE will have a good chance to beat him. Listen to his lies here.
"It gets rushed through and nobody reads it..."
Referring to Bush as President.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=eOnYnIDX0Eg
Many in the middle realize that Sarah had good ideas that look better now. With the media in your back pocket, dems still look crazy trying to rush socialistic legislation through under our noses. We are waking up and many ready to eliminate the lopsided power in 2010.
Dems are for Sarah because they are scared of her. Saturday night live and John Stuart are not legitimate news sources, but try to take her down and it will backfire.
Read Ben Stein. He is on target!
spectator.org/archives/2009/07/24/weve-figured-him-out
"Why is President Barack Obama in such a hurry to get his socialized medicine bill passed?
Because he and his cunning circle realize some basic truths:
The American people in their unimaginable kindness and trust voted for a pig in a poke in 2008. They wanted so much to believe Barack Obama was somehow better and different from other ultra-leftists that they simply took him on faith.
They ignored his anti-white writings in his books. They ignored his quiet acceptance of hysterical anti-American diatribes by his minister, Jeremiah Wright.
They ignored his refusal to explain years at a time of his life as a student. They ignored his ultra-left record as a "community organizer," Illinois state legislator, and Senator.
The American people ignored his total zero of an academic record as a student and teacher, his complete lack of scholarship when he was being touted as a scholar...."
"...Now, the American people are starting to wake up to the truth. Barack Obama is a super likeable super leftist, not a fan of this country, way, way too cozy with the terrorist leaders in the Middle East, way beyond naïveté, all the way into active destruction of our interests and our allies and our future.
The American people have already awakened to the truth that the stimulus bill -- a great idea in theory -- was really an immense bribe to Democrat interest groups, and in no way an effort to help all Americans.
Now, Americans are waking up to the truth that ObamaCare basically means that every time you are sick or injured, you will have a clerk from the Department of Motor Vehicles telling your doctor what he can and cannot do.
Mr. Obama knows Americans are getting wise and will stop him if he delays at all in taking away our freedoms.
There is his urgency and our opportunity. Once freedom is lost, America is lost. Wake up, beloved America. "
What's up with the headline? It's totally not true at all, what the f...
This article is NOT about Obama. It's about Sarah the Quitter. She's lame. What more can you say. Personally, I'm glad she's gone. YAY Dems for Sarah... you're right on the money.
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