They Grow up Too Fast: What the GOP Needs to Learn from the Rise & Fall of Sarah Palin

Divorce rumors. Resignations. Catty press release wars with comedians.

Those three stories are former republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin’s most recent contributions to the American political arena. Less than a year after calling out Barack Obama for a celebrity-based candidacy, the former governor now sits in the tabloid company of Lindsay Lohan and Angelina Jolie. The above list doesn’t ring out “Country First,” but it does give the Republican Party a PR blueprint for candidate failure in 2012.

If the Elephant wants to take back Capitol Hill, they need to compare year one of the Barack Obama (2004) and Sarah Palin (2008) media explosions to see what needs correcting. For a party that is currently stressing deliberate pace in the health care debate, the republicans could learn a lesson from the democrats about going slow.

Palin’s rise was anything but slow. She rose from relative obscurity 11 months ago at the Republican National Convention in St. Paul. A first-term governor from Alaska (state motto: Al Gore’s only destination for sad polar bear photos), Palin was picked as the surprise running mate for octogenarian Arizona senator John McCain. She was a flashy pick: stylish, strong and a little (but only a little) more sexually appealing than the outgoing republican vice president.

The frenzy at the twin cities convention mirrored 2004 for the dems, when Obama gave the first of what would be many speeches to a prime time audience. Little was known about him then; we forget now, but Jack Ryan’s fetish-based fall from grace seemed to be the only reason the democrat from Chicago was elected to the U.S. Senate. He wowed the convention and commentators alike (starting what would be a continuing love affair with the national media).

That’s where the similarities end. Four years after that convention, Obama was elected to be the 44th president of the United States. Four years after the 2008 GOP convention, Palin may very well be vying for a seat on the hockey moms of America council. Here’s why:

Just days after the announcement of McCain’s choice, Palin was embroiled in all manner of controversy. Her daughter Bristol’s out-of-wedlock pregnancy with Levi Johnston undermined Palin’s family-friendly platform. Her shopping spree at Neiman Marcus was dubbed extravagant and self-serving (though, to be fair, if Michelle Obama did this now, it would be called jump-starting the economy). And worst of all, interviews made her appear uninformed.

She claimed the media was out to get her, terming the phrase “gotcha journalism.” It’s certainly true that the benefit of the doubt given to Obama and Joe “the Political Outtake” Biden was not afforded to McCain and Palin; however, going on the defensive without offering up real solutions to America’s slumping economy proved to sink the republican ship in 2008.

That didn’t end Palin’s run, though. She never hid her aspirations for office beyond 2008, and after the election ended, she was assumed to be one of the republican frontrunners for 2012. But her defensive, reactionary style kept creeping into the news. McCain aides griped that she had sabotaged the campaign, issuing press release upon press release for the smallest of perceived slights.

This tendency came to a head this summer after CBS’ late night host David Letterman made a joke about the Palins visiting New York City and Yankee slugger Alex Rodriguez impregnating Palin’s daughter, supposedly Bristol. Poor taste? Sure, but no worse than any of the jokes involving Dick Cheney’s lesbian daughter over the years. That’s the price you pay for being in the public eye and messing up.

Palin bit into Letterman, and kept herself in the public eye for … what? With all the issues that Palin could be focusing on, she chose to attack late night comedy. She used the very media she claimed was against her to stay in the news. Say what you will about Obama (and there is plenty to say), but he is using power to push across his agenda. In the last few months, the best Palin can muster are statements about how she was treated unfairly or how her marriage is not falling apart.

She resigned her post as governor at the end of July, hardly the next signpost needed on the way to Washington.

The Wasilla princess wasn’t given time to acclimate to the pressure. Obama had breathing room after 2004 to formulate his platform and to craft his image. A week after coming to the public eye, Palin was fighting back against negative news. She certainly has to carry some of the blame for her failure over the past year, but not all of it. In the rush to win some “Hillary” votes, the republicans chose the wrong vice presidential candidate.

If the GOP wants to fight back against Obama and the still-present George W. Bush backlash, they need to start building candidates on more than “country” or even “family.” Make “conservative” mean more than “anti-gay” to the moderate voter. Teach Bobby Jindal to speak in specifics on economic policies – and make him sound positive – and in three years, maybe he can be the republicans’ answer to Obama. Maybe it will be Mike Huckabee or Mitt Romney or a candidate we don’t yet know, but it can’t be someone thrown into the fire with little experience handling the spotlight.

Barry didn’t have political experience, but he did have those years of crafting an image, of creating a platform. Give the next republican up-and-comer the same advantage. Otherwise, you’ll end up with candidates that are more Us Weekly than U.S. News and World Report.

David Gregory - GooseRadio