What Sarah Palin Needs to Do

There has been much discussion about Sarah Palin's recent resignation and her future.  Cal Thomas has commented on the matter, and suggests she needs to do several things:

If Palin is to have a future in national politics (assuming she wants one) there are several steps she must take. First, she needs a complete makeover. The big media will never admit they were wrong in their judgments, but they might write stories about the “new Sarah Palin.” She should hit the books and learn as much as she can about the modern world, history and court cases. She should read newspapers so that when future interviewers hit her with questions, she can dazzle them like a Jeopardy champion.

What she should not do is become a cable TV pundit. That’s too predictable. Instead, she might follow Ronald Reagan’s example and deliver a daily radio commentary. Radio takes the focus away from outward appearance and places it on the substance of what is said. She should write these commentaries herself, as Reagan did, and the outlets ought to include mainstream stations, as well as conservative and Christian ones.

Palin should hire a speech coach and follow that person’s advice. She has a pleasant enough speaking voice, but the tone needs to be adjusted, as do her word choices. “You betcha” should be banned from her vocabulary. Such slang may resonate well with some people, but national candidates should have rhetoric that soars and gets attention.

Lastly, she needs a hair, makeup, and wardrobe makeover. She is a beautiful woman, but appearance should not be the first thing one reacts to when people look at her.

I would add one more element.  She probably needs to get her family life in order, which means that perhaps she should not try to run again any time real soon.

Comments

[Stormy]

Sorry about that Heath. Another potential T.D. thrown to high for the receiver in the end-zone.

"Jonathan Martin buttonholed a number of Blue Dogs this week, and got "an awkward, stare-at-your-shoes unease when the prospect of appearing with Palin was posed":

Some of the members lunged for elevators, others moved to get into meetings (or at least behind closed doors), and a few just chuckled nervously and replied in a clipped fashion that reflected an immense desire to not discuss the topic at any length.

For these Democrats, many of them part of the right-leaning Blue Dog Coalition, Palin presents a quandary: She’s deeply unpopular within their own party, but in the socially conservative, often rural districts or states they represent, the plain-spoken, wader-wearing Alaska governor has a following.

So Palin’s suggestion, floated in a Washington Times interview, that she’d stump for like-minded independents or Democrats prompted many usually loquacious politicians to respond gingerly — and often with the same talking point they would use to explain why they don’t want high-profile liberals to appear in their red-leaning districts.

“I don’t think so,” said Democratic Rep. Heath Shuler, who hails from the conservative far western reaches of North Carolina.

“You know, look,” Shuler continued, clearing his throat, “there may be things we agree on, but there’s a lot of things we disagree on. I’m satisfied by me campaigning for myself in my own district. I don’t need somebody else from, you know — to come into my district.”

So, no help from Alaska?

“I don’t think so,” Shuler said, smiling and glancing over at the friends he was showing around the Capitol."