Mrs. Palin goes to Washington and her Critics Don't Like It

It is fascinating to me that the Palin-Haters of the world think it is hypocritical for the Governor of Alaska to attend the Alfalfa Dinner tonight.


Their seems to be two major political complaints -




1) Sarah Palin painted herself as a political outsider and mocked the political elite, now she is flying half way around the world to have dinner with them.

2) Sarah Palin attacked Barack Obama as a man who "palls around with terrorists" and now she says she is going to Washington because of the opportunity to be at a dinner with him.

It is the traditional role of the Vice Presidential nominee to be the "bad cop" to the Presidential nominees "good cop." If there is a controversial attack to be made, chances are it will come from the VP candidate. This is especially true for candidates who are running behind.

In the book "Vital Signs: Perspectives on the Health of American Campaigning," David Dullo and Candice Nelson explain:

"Traditionally, vice presidential candidates have been relegated to playing the role of the attack dog in presidential campaigns - going after their opponents in ways the presidential candidate cannot afford to because they want to stay above the fray or they would pay too high a political price for the direct attacks. To this end, the attacks coming from the vice presidential candidate are often harsher and more pointed than the rhetoric coming from the top of the ticket."

So Sarah Palin was playing the traditional role of a VP candidate.

Joe Biden also played that role, he just never got the attention that Sarah Palin did during the campaign.

Here is a report from the AP when Biden was first picked -

"Barack Obama says Joe Biden is ready to step in as US president. He's not bad in the role of attack dog, either, wasting no time gnawing at GOP rival John McCain.

'He will have to figure out which of the seven kitchen tables to sit at' when considering his own economic future, Biden said, a blistering reference to McCain's embarrassing admission, particularly during a period of financial turmoil, that he didn't know how many homes he and his ultra-wealthy wife own."

And you'll remember how Biden launched a full assault on John McCain at the VP debate claiming that McCain was not a maverick and that he was "out of touch."

So both VPs played their roles.

Would it be hypocritical for Joe Biden to once again have lunch with his friend John McCain? No, of course not. The campaign is over and the two understand that politics is a dirty business.

There is a true spirit of bi-partisanship in Washington. Sarah Palin and Barack Obama have already worked together. Our friend Andrew Malcolm of the LA Times has written about it -

It seems that Alaska Republican Gov. Sarah Palin, the unsuccessful GOP VP nominee, was worried that the Army was going to cut off pensions to the state's old-timers long-retired from the Alaska Territorial Guard. So she sat down and wrote a letter to the new big guy himself, Democratic President Barack Obama, who's vowed to take extra special care of veterans.

And, what do you know? According to the ever-vigilant Sarah Palin for President blog, the Army suddenly decided it didn't really need to cut off those payments after all

You can read Andrew's post by clicking here. And you can see a copy of the letter Palin wrote by clicking here and going to the Sarah Palin for President Blog.

Barack Obama is being praised for reaching across the aisle and not letting politics get in the way of the business of government. Sarah Palin does the same thing, puts politics aside for the best interest of her state, and she is criticized. It makes no sense, nut is another true sign of PDS, Palin Derangement Syndrome.

Bernard Goldberg explains -



And the argument that "outsider" Sarah Palin is now hob nobbing with the same political elite that she mocked is blatantly ridiculous.

She is a Hockey Mom with five kids from Alaska who likes to fish and hunt. She is an outsider. Jimmy Carter, Ronald Reagan, George Bush and Bill Clinton also campaigned as outsiders. Almost every Governor campaigns as an outsider because they are not part of Washington politics.

But that doesn't mean Reagan, Carter, Bush and Clinton didn't attend fundraisers, annual dinners and balls with the powerful in Washington. When they became President they need to work with the powerful, even if their politics, policies and perspective are born somewhere else. http://www.nndb.com/org/692/000051539/ to take a look at the list of Alfalfa Club members and you'll see that this is a group of people who are good to know when you govern.

The political arguments are just that - political. More than that - they are silly.

There is one real concern I have about Sarah Palin going to the Alfalfa Club Dinner and I will write more about that in my next post later today.