Upon arriving home from the purchase of a book I had deemed ‘evil’ by comparing the lines for it to the lines for the ‘evil’ Harry Potter book (called evil for the sole purpose of argument), my dad noted I had just contributed to (potentially) a future campaign of her’s.

I responded: “It will not be much considering a fool and their money is soon parted as the ol’ saying goes.”

My sister retorts: “Just like you and your money to buy the book.”

Expectedly, I had no kind words for such a brilliant response, a counter argument of such magnitude not seen in the Smith house in quite a long while. Something Sarah would likely compliment.

In all seriousness though, I thought Thanksgiving break would be an opportune time to do something fun. I chose to read this book in an attempt to get an idea of who Sarah Palin really is, being involuntarily hailed as the new conservative leader. Involuntarily meaning she did not really see the 2008 campaign in all its brutality coming. This book is proof of that.

I do not want to get too far in too quick, so without further ado, a review of Sarah Palin’s autobiography “Going Rogue: An American Life.”

I write this knowing full well I was a sucker for the conservative philosophy back in high school. Proof of this can be found in a social studies class, where in a class debate I took the pro-war side of an Iraq war debate, did a little presentation on the Republican party, and even researched Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts for another project.

So few ground rules I am personally laying for the review: I am not going to comment on some of the many religious trips Palin takes in the book. As a person raised Catholic myself, I would rather not tackle a person of the same general faith. Also not going to comment on some of the known contradictions in the book, as they have been dealt with elsewhere, and need not to be reiterated. Same with her remarks on the McCain camp’s advisers.

Then, what is there to comment about the book, you may ask? Well, proof that the McCain campaign (I’m not pointing at John, I am pointing at every behind the scenes nerd here) FAILED in the VP vetting process.

I would have to estimate a solid 25% of the book is devoted to her dealings in the Alaskan Petroleum industry, which knowledge of she demonstrates very well. Given it was likely edited by reviewers before publishing, this might appear a bit flattering, but I will give her the benefit of the doubt. 35% of the book is devoted to family life. You know she is a mother. Left with 40%, another 25% is on the campaign, and the remaining 15% is on her philosophy, neatly summarized in Chapter 6. Most of her philosophy is standard conservative in nature: full support of free market capitalism with little regulation, less government, fewer taxes, etc.

~Nothing on foreign policy, nothing really detailed on events outside of Alaska outside of the campaign and trips to military ceremonies. What does it come down to? She certainly had the minimum requirements to be governor of Alaska, but unfortunately nothing greater since she did not go further, nor did she have the opportunity to advance to national office in congress or something, between Governorship and Vice Presidential candidate (even though she appears to have eyed Senate in 2004, but later dropped the idea, according to Wikipedia).

The McCain Campaign’s failure comes at picking someone who’s scope of knowledge only truly reaches the state level. Some may say that John needed someone with domestic experience to compliment his foreign policy focus but Palin does not fit this bill only truly knowing the Alaska Petroleum industry (and there’s likely an argument to counter that). This book is basically a post mortem account, and expectedly, I get the feeling that Palin’s a bit shook up about the whole experience just from the style of writing in the book. She was taken out of her sphere of control, and thus could only truly have fun like John told her to apparently (211).

Outside of that, the book illustrates how Palin came to realize some of the universal truths of politics and campaigning (Spoiler: she did so in a ‘conservative’ fashion). A lot of this book could be used as fodder in arguing against the Republican approach to governing. Quotes abound that get to the meat of why some conservative ideals are just not suitable at all for implementation. As an example, take this quote after her discovery that another baby was on the way:

And for a split second it hit me: I’m out of town. No one knows I’m pregnant. No one would ever have to know. It was a fleeting thought, a sudden understanding of why many women fell pressured to make the “problem” go away. Sad, I thought, that our society has elevated things like education and career above the gift of bringing new life into the world. (172)

…Because we want our children, when we have any, to have the necessary security to grow strong and parents with brains to make them smarter than we are, to the benefit of society, at least we aim. You know what? One day we may not need abortions, because we will think twice and act accordingly before doing something potentially life changing. I believe we can make this happen.

There’s another bold quote worth sharing: ‘And our goal in the War on Terror must be the same as Reagan’s: “We won. They lost.“‘ (393) This quote in the context of historical developments in the past 1.5 centuries makes me quite uncomfortable, and presents an image of a rival sports team rubbing the opposing losers’ faces in the mud. A good plenty of people likely believe we can end a need or thirst for war. This will not help at all.

So, the bottom line: I like how this book lays out the conservative argument and helps curious folks like me figure out who Sarah Palin really is, other than what the various characatures paint of her. I mainly dislike some of the random derails into spiritual statements (my only comment regarding this), and the raw conservative philosophy it presents. The book can be cited in arguing for the democratic approach: fodder provided and to be dug up too (all worthy of a separate blog post).

Thus, in an odd way, Thank You Sarah for explaining yourself, and possibly the Republican movement. People need to take her as a serious competitor, as she has all the will in the world to run over her competition (as I still shutter in contemplation, especially after this book). Palin explains her attitude best when talking to a reporter under the theme of men vs. women: “You just have to rise above all that and plow through! Look, we have to work twice as hard to prove we’re half as capable as men think they are.” (80)

In other words: we have a tough battle on our hands in 2010 and 2012 if this book gains any traction, and Palin any ground. Hopefully, that will not be the case.