The Sarah Palin Saga

So lots of folks here in Rochester are talking about Sarah who will be signing books at one of our local Borders this Saturday. The whole drama following her public life is mostly silly and it’s hard to imagine that she could ever be a serious contender for the GOP’s nomination in 2012 for a variety of reasons, not the least of which is that she’s simply too politically divisive and, of course, underqualified though one could say the same regarding our current president. Still, the hyperventtilated critiques hurled at Palin from so many quarters is so unhinged and immoderate that it turns out to be instructive in understanding the ways in which so many political disputes today find expression in cultural cleavages. Back in November 2008 I wrote a short article on this for the now defunct Culture11 magazine, which our friends at The New Atlantis have generously reprinted at their own website.