Sarah Palin: Political Spokesmodel
The dictionary defines a politician as:
“a person experienced in the art or science of government”(the most generous definition)
and a statesman as:
“a person who exhibits great wisdom and ability in directing the affairs of a government or in dealing with important public issues.”
Sarah Palin by no stretch of the imagination can be thought of as a statesman (or stateswoman). She tries to represent herself as a an experienced politician but from the very beginning she was simply a laughing stock and an embarrassment among serious thinkers on both sides of the political spectrum.
What do you do with a person who has become the best example of the Peter Principle in action since George W. Bush? You find her something to do which she is good at without hurting herself or others. So Sarah Palin and the Republican party have invented a new category of public figure – the Political Spokesmodel. Once again the dictionary provides a very informative definition for spokesmodel:
“an attractive or otherwise appealing person who is hired to speak on behalf of a company or product, as in a commercial.”
Now that she will no longer be Governor, there is no need for further pretense. She can now be paid to repeat outdated Republican talking points and smears against President Obama and will never again be accountable to those pesky voters. All she has to do is stand there and smile and wink and shout out “You-Betcha” to her hearts content and bask in the warm glow of Republican hero worship. She’s happy, Newt Gingrich is happy and the Republican rank and file is happy. The only losers are late night comedians who won’t have Palin to kick around anymore. On second thought, I am sure she will find a way to mess this job up as well.
How brilliant to return to and rely on definitions to get your point across!
If Palin becomes a Political Spokesperson for the Republican Party, it is a shame that for such an attractive person she will most probably be expressing ugly talking points.