Will the Real Sarah Palin Please Stand Up.

Given the nature of the passion this election is raising among people who think about politics, one might not be surprised that some readers miss the point of the stories below. We have one main piece by a Washington Post columnist recording the plain facts of Sarah Palin's wardrobe "as a Palin political/fashion statement," in other words, that Palin is a pretty plain gal. Interspersed with the main story there are quotations from Palin-haters. One must needs slow down if only slightly to see that this is a comparison between Palin as she is-- and Palin as seen by, or more accurately, Palin as she is ranted about by, haters from the Left. Look, then, at what Leftists write about Sarah Palin. Compare it to what a columnist writes. Decide for yourself who the real Sarah Palin is. It'll define you, too.

Robin Givhan, "Palin in comparison." 22 Oct. 2008

Republican vice-presidential candidate Sarah Palin's style is exceptionally ordinary. Nothing about it connotes authority. No detail announces that she is in charge. And that's what makes it so powerful.

aronus Says: August 31st, 2008 at 10:35 am

"Fuck this bitch. She's like the female Hitler. She has no respect for life at all (except for little fetuses, of course)."

The rimless glasses that dominate her face are as banal as spectacles come. The goal of their design is to have them go unnoticed. They are crafted to avoid detracting from her big brown eyes.

"Evil. Aerial gun hunting of wolves. She's a huge advocate for it. Some of her other offensive positions (choice, etc.) I can at least see the arguments for. Harassing wildlife from a helicopter and killing them with (non-"clean") gunshots is just f'ing evil."

Her clothes are unpretentious, but they are also unremarkable. They have nothing to do with fashion. It's fashion show season now, with designers unveiling their spring 2009 collections in New York, Milan and soon Paris. So far, none of them have suggested that the next new thing for the power-wielding woman is a straight black skirt with a boxy blazer, which is what Palin wore when she accepted the vice-presidential nomination.

Average Viewer: "Good lord, this woman is dumb as a tulip bulb. The very idea that the Yanks would put her in charge of anything but her own vibrator is rank insanity. You can tell by the way she hedges her answers that she knows feck all about politics, and has developed little more than a coping mechanism when asked questions she has no clue about. Alaska may well be stupid enough to give her public office, but it's pretty obvious that she's more of a backwoods carny huckster than a responsible and educated political figure. Stepford Wives and Klan mothers will love her even if it was revealed that she ate babies, but hopefully the rest of the US will choose not to elect another retard to federal office."

In the narrow confines of political style, the accepted rule is to dress in a manner that implies empathy for one's constituency - so don't wear anything too expensive - but also conveys authority. Palin has embraced the former and utterly ignored the latter. Nothing about her style jibes with the image of power. She does not dress like a boss lady, an Iron Lady or the devil who wore Prada.

Eduardo said... "[T]he hypocrytical, lying tool that is Sarah Palin. Watch her wave her sick baby in front of the stupid christians and the supposedly "liberal media" will go wild!"

Her clothes don't have the aura of sophistication like that of Michelle Obama's sheaths and pearls. They do not have a patina of glamour like Cindy McCain's heiress wardrobe. And they do not announce themselves with the confidence, assertiveness and listen-to- me-ness of Hillary Clinton's bold pantsuits. Palin's clothes are common. Everyone knows someone who dresses like her, which is partly why so many folks seem to think that they know her.

Posted by PerceptionManagers.Org at 9/06/2008 12:40:00 PM:
"But being openly racist is only the tip of the Palin iceberg. According to Alaskans interviewed for this article, she is also vindictive and mean."

Palin likes to wear a super-size Old Glory brooch that shouts with as much patriotic bravado as one of those monster flags that wave from a car dealership. And for the record, it has no kin among the statement jewelry currently being championed on the runway.

Posted by PerceptionManagers.Org at 9/06/2008 12:40:00 PM:
"Sarah Palin is a racist cunt."

The ruby slippers she wore on the campaign trail, the ones she paired with the black jacket and skirt that pulled just so across her hips, churn up images of another small-town girl who'd suddenly landed in Oz. A peep-toe pump is coy - but not an emblem of gravitas.

The Singing Revolution: "Sarah Palin is a racist piece of shit."

Palin is the girl next door. And yes, much about her attire emphasizes youthfulness, most distinctly her hair. Highlighted, teased and scrunched, it is a standard-issue, mommy-is-in-a- rush style. Since motherhood has been laid out by her campaign like one of the pillars of national service, the mop-top hairdo is practically a battle scar.

Disgusted with Republicans: October 22, 2008

"More perks for Palin: $150,000.00 wardrobe. If you gave money to the RNC was it to help get McCain elected? or was it to buy a fancy schmancy wardrobe for Sarah Palin and her kids? The RNC also spent $4,716.49 on hair and makeup through September."

Executive women tend to avoid wearing their hair in ponytails or looking like they have it tacked to the top of their head with a chip clip. Like a good female news anchor, they get themselves a haircut that falls no further than the shoulders, is feminine and easy to maintain. They do not want to be wind-blown and tousled when they walk into a boardroom. Hair shouldn't be a distraction.

Washington Scandal: Media Darling Sarah Palin About To Become Scum Sucking CRIMINAL and Ruination of Republican Party

"tsk, tsk, tsk...seems that little Ms. Media Darling Sarah Palin is about to be burned at the stake for ethics violations...or is the old Bush Guard going to attempt to squelch those who might dare to speak truth to evil?"

Palin doesn't have Maria Menounos' Pantene hair. But it is chestnut brown and long and is the antithesis of what most women do with it as they come into their own. They typically become more polished and controlled, not less so.

Candy said: September 2, 2008 at 20:19

"How about . . . how about we just let them have Alaska? Let Alaska peacefully leave the union. Of course, this means all those earmarks they survive on will be gone, but maybe they can petition for some foreign aid. The military will disable all the missile silos. She can keep her Praetorian Guard. We'll arrange for all the batshit crazies in the lower 48 and any who might reside in Obama's home state and the territories to move there, free of charge. McCain and Palin can be supreme rulers of the Country of Alaska, at least until Palin has McCain fired and she becomes sole ruler.

Damned shame about the wildlife and the environment, though. However, about two thirds of the Southern wingnuts will freeze to death the first winter or be eaten by bears or die in weird grilling accidents - I'm looking at you TIDOSy - and that will ease the drain on food and heating oil and stuff, so maybe it will all even out. I really don't want to share a country with them any more. I just want them to go away. They get what they want, and I get what I want. Yay."

Palin has been referred to as America's hottest governor by sources as varied as Alaska Magazine and button-wearing Republican conventioneers. But her power isn't in her physical looks as much as in the packaging.

Fickle Goddess: "Why I Hate Palin. Governor Palin has a Down's syndrome kid."

She seems to dress for pretty rather than powerful. She is willing to be sexual, with the occasional fitted jacket and high heels. She wears dangly earrings. Campaign photographers can't seem to resist shooting her legs.

Palin Graphic.

She talks tough. She doesn't blink. One thinks of a waitress in a bar who knows that if she pretends she doesn't notice when a guy's ogling her legs and gives as good as she gets when it comes to off-color jokes, life will go along more smoothly. She's not one of
the guys, but she doesn't confront them with either a lawyer or women's studies rhetoric.

With Video Link: "Sarah Plain is a M.I.L.P" - Mother I'd Like to Punch."

Palin's style serves as evidence that a woman can look powerful without having to manipulate her wardrobe into some torturous costume calibrated to make her look authoritative but not threatening, feminine but not sexy. She proves that a woman can wear red patent-leather shoes and still take questions on foreign policy and the economy.

THE WASHINGTON POST and a random sampling of people who will vote for Obama.