Making Her Voice Heard

She just won't go away. And the sad thing is that most people don't want her to. This past week Sarah Palin wrote an opinion piece that was printed in the Washington Post regarding her thoughts on the Copanhagen Climate Conference. One of the key takeaways that she wants readers to take away is the fact that whatever is being discussed in Copanhagen is all based on lies and heresay and that she feels that President Obama should not attend the conference to send a clear message that global warming is a myth and not based on scientific fact. What disturbs me is that there are many people out there who believe that what Palin talks about is the truth and nothing but the truth. Unfortunately if people bothered to confirm what she was saying to be the truth then perhaps they wouldn't have bothered to put so much stock in her.

Now there are those who claim that Palin is doing this merely to show the public that she's aware of the issues affecting our globe and despite the fact that she's not necessarily the darling of the Republican Party as she once was she is still a force to be reckoned with. Just what direction that force is being directed is up for debate but that's the problem; most people are hardly interested in the debate. If Palin's main purpose is keeping in the public's eye until 2012 then she's doing a wonderful job because no matter what, she's having great success at having her views continually heard in public whether it is through the publication of her book "Going Rogue" or having opinion pieces printed in major newspapers like the The Washington Post.

People have questioned why the Post printed Palin's op-ed piece in the paper in the first place. Even more so because of the gross misinterpretation of events such as the debate over whether the material on the theories on global warming are true or not. Regardless I think (as some other readers do) that the reason for printing the piece was not to show support for her way of thinking but rather to put out there the fact that she constantly flip-flops her positions or contradicts herself on a regular basis? Don't believe me? Well last year when she was running for Vice President she raised the point that some global changes could certainly be associated with man's growing prescence in the world and the drain it is having on the planet. Yet in the piece that was published this week she contradicts herself and boldly states that this is nothing more than a natural trend; almost like what George W. Bush used to say when he was asked to sign treaties on the environment.

There is no doubt in my mind that science is a very subjective manner but that doesn't mean it should be completely discounted. After all, if we don't have that much faith in science then I don't think we should have faith in all of it, not just in what we believe in. After all, if it wasn't for science (albeit medical science) Palin would never have known that her youngest child Trig would be born with Down Syndrome and become the poster child for "special needs" children after Palin popularized the phrase. I suppose it's a sign of what is typical of Palin and many of her ilk in that they will put stock in science and fact when it's convenient and then conveniently ignore it if it is contrast to what they wish to portray as their belief.

The appeal of most politicians comes from being able to draw appeal from the voting public. Many past leaders have had it and they've used it to their advantage; President Obama being one of the most recent examples. But what I feel sets Obama apart from Palin is the fact that if put on the spot he'll be able to respond with some knowledge on almost any topic. Palin on the other hand seems like she'd rely on a wink and a nod to get her point across. I say this in the hope that many more Americans will take an objective view of her as a potential leader and think back on the fact that we had a leader for eight years who originally took the lead in a poll as to whether you'd rather drink a beer with him or his opponent. To me that's the wrong kind of leader to have. Sure you'd like to have a beer with a lot of your leaders but it's just as important to know that conversations you'd have be intelligent and not the 'fake' intelligence that would come from an alcohol inspired stupor.