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Sophisticated Sarah: Palin Is Part Hepburn, Part Loren, Part Thatcher, Part Annie Oakley
By MICHAEL P. TREMOGLIE, For The Bulletin
Watching the video of Sarah Palin’s appearance with William Shatner on the “Tonight Show” with Conan O’Brien, the one word that came to mind was style. Yet, there was more to it than that.
After all, she entered the arena of late night television, a stage that has excoriated her routinely — the “enemy camp” as Chris Matthews might say. Mrs. Palin's has been scoffed at before by Mr. O’Brien. The show has featured William Shatner mocking Mrs. Palin’s tweets by reading them as dramatic recitations.
Still, Mrs. Palin handled her appearance with the aplomb of Beyonce at the MTV Video Music Awards. She exuded the charm of Sophia Loren; the dignity of a Katharine Hepburn.
The blend of these qualities, with the feistiness and intellect of Margaret Thatcher and the forty-something feminine beauty of a Demi Moore, is what makes Mrs. Palin so dangerous to the political establishments of both parties.
She has a certain manner, an allure about her that has endeared her to a wide swath of the American public in a short period of time. She is upsetting a lot of apple carts and the entrenched politicos resent it. They have directed their fire at her.
Indeed, Mrs. Palin has weathered a torrent of vitriol. While her primary critics are liberal Democrats, the bien-pensants of both parties fear and loathe her.
This was evinced recently by Michael Petrilli’s hortatory article in the Wall Street Journal. Petrilli’s haughty piece titled, “Whole Foods Republicans,” had this to say about Mrs. Palin, “…there's Sarah Palin, whose entire brand is anti-intellectual.”
Mr. Petrilli’s remarks about Mrs. Palin’s supporters echoed what liberals have said about military personnel in Iraq (Senator John Kerry, D-Mass.: “you get stuck in Iraq”) and the audience of the Limbaugh show. It repeats what the left claims is a characteristic of conservative Christians (“uneducated and easily led”) or Middle America (“clinging to their guns and religion”).
It must be noted that Mr. Petrilli is a researcher at Stanford University’s Hoover Institution. Although he appears to be a Republican, he is obviously one who has been victimized by the Democrats’ tried-and-true class-warfare propaganda. They have succeeded in dividing Republicans along cultural lines.
Yet, Mrs. Palin has run the gauntlet of ridicule from David Letterman, moral icon that he is, to Mr. Petrilli. Despite the scorn hurled at Mrs. Palin’s intellect and that of her advocates, she continues to be poised. She exhibits the grace and sophistication of many famous women, past and present.
There is no denying it. Mrs. Palin is part Hepburn, part Loren, part Moore, part Thatcher, part Condoleeza Rice and a little Annie Oakley thrown in for good measure.
The power elite compare Sarah Palin to a famous woman as well. However, the famous woman they think of, regarding Mrs. Palin, is Joan of Arc. If they have their way, Mrs. Palin will end up burned at the stake — politically speaking, that is, — just as Joan of Arc was.
After all, she entered the arena of late night television, a stage that has excoriated her routinely — the “enemy camp” as Chris Matthews might say. Mrs. Palin's has been scoffed at before by Mr. O’Brien. The show has featured William Shatner mocking Mrs. Palin’s tweets by reading them as dramatic recitations.
Still, Mrs. Palin handled her appearance with the aplomb of Beyonce at the MTV Video Music Awards. She exuded the charm of Sophia Loren; the dignity of a Katharine Hepburn.
The blend of these qualities, with the feistiness and intellect of Margaret Thatcher and the forty-something feminine beauty of a Demi Moore, is what makes Mrs. Palin so dangerous to the political establishments of both parties.
She has a certain manner, an allure about her that has endeared her to a wide swath of the American public in a short period of time. She is upsetting a lot of apple carts and the entrenched politicos resent it. They have directed their fire at her.
Indeed, Mrs. Palin has weathered a torrent of vitriol. While her primary critics are liberal Democrats, the bien-pensants of both parties fear and loathe her.
This was evinced recently by Michael Petrilli’s hortatory article in the Wall Street Journal. Petrilli’s haughty piece titled, “Whole Foods Republicans,” had this to say about Mrs. Palin, “…there's Sarah Palin, whose entire brand is anti-intellectual.”
Mr. Petrilli’s remarks about Mrs. Palin’s supporters echoed what liberals have said about military personnel in Iraq (Senator John Kerry, D-Mass.: “you get stuck in Iraq”) and the audience of the Limbaugh show. It repeats what the left claims is a characteristic of conservative Christians (“uneducated and easily led”) or Middle America (“clinging to their guns and religion”).
It must be noted that Mr. Petrilli is a researcher at Stanford University’s Hoover Institution. Although he appears to be a Republican, he is obviously one who has been victimized by the Democrats’ tried-and-true class-warfare propaganda. They have succeeded in dividing Republicans along cultural lines.
Yet, Mrs. Palin has run the gauntlet of ridicule from David Letterman, moral icon that he is, to Mr. Petrilli. Despite the scorn hurled at Mrs. Palin’s intellect and that of her advocates, she continues to be poised. She exhibits the grace and sophistication of many famous women, past and present.
There is no denying it. Mrs. Palin is part Hepburn, part Loren, part Moore, part Thatcher, part Condoleeza Rice and a little Annie Oakley thrown in for good measure.
The power elite compare Sarah Palin to a famous woman as well. However, the famous woman they think of, regarding Mrs. Palin, is Joan of Arc. If they have their way, Mrs. Palin will end up burned at the stake — politically speaking, that is, — just as Joan of Arc was.
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