Is the New Sarah Palin Just More of the Same?

We have had a pretty hectic past week in politics. Versions of Obama's health plan are being considered in Congress, oil has slid 10%, there was the meeting between the U.S. and Russia concerning nuclear weapons and, let us not forget, Sarah Palin's surprising decision to resign as Governor of Alaska. It is this last bit of news that I am interested in taking a look at today. What is Palin really up to? Is this just more of what the media has been labeling "erratic behavior," or is there more to it than that?

After reading the transcript of Palin's speech in Wasilla, Alaska, I am not ready to side with those who suggest she is retiring or going into hiding. While I am not sure if she is hinting at running for office on a third-party ticket in the future, or if her intention is to speak wherever people will listen, I do believe she is intending to make herself heard in a big way. The question that every Libertarian should be asking themselves is will this be a good thing for us, or a bad thing?

While much has been made of her swing of support from Ron Paul to John McCain, during 2008, what I find more interesting are the references toward smaller government in this latest speech. I am not one who feels that people are who they are and will never change; especially when those people are forced to reconsider their current positions from a new viewpoint. This, I believe, is what Palin has been doing since running on John McCain's ticket as V.P. and dealing with the media's unrelenting assault on her.

If she is a true proponent of smaller, less-intrusive government, as she claimed in her speech, and she intends to run for Presidential office, I feel she is going to have a tough road ahead of her. The problem is that she has already subjected herself to the harshness of the media. Because of this, people now have an opinion of her; a lot of it not so nice. But this doesn't mean all is lost just yet.

The truth is, Palin already has the look. In today's political process, those taken the most seriously are those who look best on T.V. Personally, I feel this is where the Libertarian party has failed in the past. One's ideas can make all the sense in the world, but unless the face of the party is reasonably good-looking those ideas will fall upon deaf ears. It's sad, but true.

Next, one has to be able to speak effectively when put on the spot. Unfortunately, her interview with Katie Couric in September of 2008 really hurt Palin a lot. She was clearly not ready to answer the questions that were raised by Katie. This will probably be the thing she has the most trouble getting past in the public's eyes. That being said, it is far from impossible.

If a presidential run is not in the cards, is it possible that she is looking to make her voice heard through a talk show? This, I would say, is probably the most probable to happen; at least at first. After all, she has already signed a book deal. A talk show would be a great way for Palin to extend her voice after the release of her book. It would also give her a chance to get more people on her side and prepare herself for a future run at President.

Either way, I feel that if she has truly taken the "smaller government is better" belief to heart, then Libertarians should be supporting her. She's already a household name. With a little cleaning up and damage control she just could turn out to be the voice of Libertarian ideals. And, let's face it, with mainstream media ignoring us, we need all the help we can get. We'll just have to wait and see how all this turns out.