This is a new USA Today/Gallup poll out there that shows something very interesting. When asked, Americans chose both Sarah Palin and Hillary Clinton as the two women they admire the most.
Lets take a look at this, as I think it says some very interesting things about America. First, without a doubt, both Sarah and Hillary are feminist icons. They are both hard core, successful women. Both tough as nails.
No surprises in the way the polling shakes out, either. Gallup asked 1025 adult Americans to rate their most admired. These two came out on top in basically a dead heat, considering the +/- 4 point margin of error.
What woman living today do you admire the most?
Hillary Clinton......................16%
Sarah Palin...........................15%
Oprah Winfrey...............8%
Michelle Obama.............7%
Condoleezza Rice.......2%
Queen Elizabeth..........2%
Margaret Thatcher...1%
Maya Angelou.........1%
Of course, this was pretty partisan, as both ladies got the bulk of their support from their particular political parties, which is why this poll fascinates me. It’s a good look at how both liberals and conservatives look at the world.
It should be noted too, that more Republicans were apt to admire Hillary Clinton than democrats were to admire Sarah Palin. Roughly 6 percent of the Republicans asked admired Hillary, while only 1 percent of the democrats admired Sarah. Again, several things come into play here, at least in my mind. One, Conservatives, and Republicans are generally more open minded, and democrats are more apt to follow the party line, no matter what. One also has to factor in education and how informed Conservatives generally are vs democrats.
Frankly, you can count me in the list of those that has at least some admiration for Hillary Clinton. I blame our friends at HillBuzz.org for this! (Just kidding, these are some of the best folks out there. They honestly do have me looking at Clinton in a different light!)
I don’t agree with her on many issues, and sometimes have my doubts about her competency, but compared to most democrat/communist party members, she comes out looking pretty good. She’s by far the most competent member of the Obama administration.
One thing that fascinates me, especially considering both of these women truly are feminist icons, is how they got there. I also think it says a bit about Conservatives and liberals. And what matters to them.
First lets look at Hillary. Frankly, you know you are an icon, when you only need a first name, something both Hillary and Sarah pull off well! Mention either one, and people know who you are talking about, though, I give Hillary the edge here, as she’s enjoyed this status longer.
Hillary took a rather conventional path to her place in the world, even for a feminist. She met Bill in college, got married and started a family. Hillary has a degree in law, and was a practicing attorney. Of course, Bill was the politician and star of the family from the start. As he worked his way through Arkansas politics, she worked and raised their daughter. Then of course, she became First Lady of Arkansas, and then, of course, First Lady of the United States. And, no doubt, she was one of the more outspoken and active presidential spouses. Of course, like in any family, the wife is most certainly a husband’s strongest, most trusted adviser.
After Bill’s time in office was over, Hillary certainly made the most of her opportunity. She was able to use her time as First Lady to make a successful bid for the United States Senate, using that time honored tradition of trading on her successful husband’s name to get her foot in the door, and then her own ability to cross over the threshold.
This is not to take anything away from her either, it just is what it is. Hillary worked hard in the Senate, and proved that she hard earned a shot at the presidency, at least to those who support her. And she was considered the front runner. If not for Obama, she might indeed be the one sitting in the Oval Office right now. Personally, I think we’d be better off!
But she still did well, and while Obama didn’t choose her as Vice President, probably out of fear of being overshadowed, she was chosen as Secretary of State, not exactly a bad thing.
Sarah’s life and path was a little different. She was more of an athlete, and dreamed of being a sportscaster at ESPN. She was a leader even then, and as team captain, led her high school team to a state championship.
She met and married her high school sweetheart. A hard working, ruggedly handsome guy with whom she has five beautiful children. He would go one to be her trusted adviser, Sarah also put herself through school, working several jobs, as well as earning some scholarships. This, of course, is why it took her longer than many of her peers in politics. She has a degree in journalism.
Like most of us, she went to work. Among other things, she worked as a commercial fisherman, with Todd. A tough, physical, but rewarding profession. She’s the complete outdoorsman who hunts, fishes, and loves to run every chance she gets.
Finding a need to serve, she became interested in politics, and steadily went from a seat on the city council to Mayor, then made an unsuccessful run at Lt Governor, which led to a position as the state’s chief energy and environmental regulator, and that of course, led her to becoming one of America’s most successful Governors, which found her in the 2008 presidential race, as the VP nominee. Her path was that of a self made woman who really had no family or spousal name to trade on. Of course, she did enjoy the support of her entire family, all along the way.
Oh, and she got to be a sportscaster, as well. At least at the local level.
Two different paths, by two different feminine and feminist icons. That’s what makes this such an interesting poll, one that is interesting to contemplate.
This of course, brings both Hillary and Sarah to 2008 and the presidential election. Neither were successful in the respective bids, but both have endured.
Like Sarah Palin, Hillary was savaged by Barack Obama and his Chicago street thug tactics. They went after both her and Bill, America’s "first black President" as he was lovingly called by the dems until Obama showed up on the scene. With a new golden boy though, the Clintons, once the most powerful force in democrat politics, were now racists, "straight up", as Janeane Garofalo would say.
Of course, that wasn’t even a good warm up for what the Obama slime machine had ready to go after Sarah with. Frankly, you would have thought Sarah was the Presidential candidate, and John McCain didn’t even exist. Throughout the campaign, the real contest was between Obama and Palin. Those were the two who were always compared, McCain was almost an afterthought. And frankly, considering just how poorly McCain’s "all-star" campaign performed, and how severely they restricted Palin, never allowing Sarah to just be Sarah, It was a smart strategy by Obama and his team.
Other than that one odd breakdown though where Hillary cried a bit, maybe for effect, maybe just out of sheer frustration, she endured the hate piled on her by the Obama campaign, the ultra-left wing radicals that now make up the party’s base, as well as the entire media.
Then she went to work for Obama, becoming Secretary of State, third in line to the presidency. Not too shabby.
Sarah also endured. Frankly though, and I’ve said this before, and surely will say again, in the 50 years I wandered this planet I have never seen the effort to destroy someone that I have seen thrown at Sarah Palin. You had everything Obama and his weasels could throw together, the most vile, ugly, dirtiest Chicago style hate and slime they could muster, followed by an over the top assault by the dishonest media, and of course, the recruitment, by the campaign, and then continued coordination from the White House after the election, of the Alaska Mafia., the radical bloggers and serial ethics charge filers.
Sarah of course, after watching Obama and the Mafia make her job in Alaska totally undoable, as they stole millions in taxpayer dollars, famously stepped down from office, in what is turning out to not only be an incredibly smart and self sacrificing move for Alaska, but also the shrewdest political move most of us have ever seen. This truly shows that Sarah has incredible political instincts.
Since stepping down, Sarah has become a record setting, best selling author, who is in her fifth straight week atop the New York Times Best Seller List, the spot she debuted in.
Sarah has also become the most popular Conservative in America, hit the talk show circuit, even doing a gag with Conan and Bill Shatner, and is now considered the absolute favorite to win the 2012 GOP nomination, as well as the presidency.
More importantly though, is the fact that just as the Obama campaign never let up on her, even after the election, she never let up on Obama. Unrestrained by the McCain campaign, and just being herself, Sarah has been on the attack ever since. No quarter is given to Obama, Congress or any of their insane ideas.
Sarah has turned a social network into her personal domain, and her every note to her over 1 million Facebook supporters is picked up by all of the news media and quoted world-wide. She has shown a knack for condensing relatively complicated issues down to their rawest, simplest forms for maximum impact.
Her first comment on ObamaCare and the inevitable rationing of health care, especially to the elderly, disabled, and chronically ill, birthed what might be the most important phrase of the year, if not the decade. "Death panels" will forever be the phrase most associated with ObamaCare.
Of course, as with everything Sarah, "death panels" stirred incredible controversy. (Hint: it was supposed to) Those on the left called her every name in the book, some even printable. So strong was the attempt to discredit her, the President actually felt he had to single her out, little Sarah from Wasilla, a private citizen, in his joint session in front of Congress. The dog and pony festival of lies he put on back in the summer that prompted Congressman Joe Wilson to actually call him on it, giving us the decade’s second best phrase "you lie!" This one is used often now after Obama says anything more complicated and involved than "good morning" or "hello."
Anyhow, not only did she drive the democrat/communists crazy with this incredible succinct and accurate description of health care rationing, she also embarrassed the Rockefeller, country club, RINO wing of the Republican Party. Of course, embarrassing milquetoast moderates is fairly simple.
Now some tried to make it complicated, or were just dumb, or maybe they were trying to muddy the waters, by claiming it was all about "end of life counseling, which is certainly a troubling issue, but not where she was going.
In the end, two things have happened, the far left St Petersburg, Florida newspaper proclaimed "death panels" the "lie of the year" while simaltaniously Senate Majority Leader, and hack, Harry Reid placed a questionable provision in his version of ObamaCare that would make it nearly impossible to take the "death panels" out of the picture...ever!
Funny how liberals always try and have it both ways! "There’s no such thing as ‘death panels’ and oh, by the way, it is now impossible (and illegal) to take the ‘death panels’ out of ObamaCare!"
For her part, where most people would have backed down, Sarah managed to mention death panels every chance she got! In her latest, she mentioned them no less than four times, shoving those "death panels" right up their...... well......you know where!
Long story short, Sarah has shown she is not afraid to fight what she believes in. To put it all out there, not hold back, or play it safe. She has proven she is politically courageous where others are incredibly timid. These are not the times for timidity and political cowardice.
We have seen some really interesting turns too. The media is acting a little different, treating her more seriously, even somewhat complementary. And not just the conservative media. A lot of this is because people are realizing what a complete and total disaster Obama is. He has managed to not only further anger conservatives, and totally alienate the so-called independents, he’s even got many of the far left slingin’ snot!
You really, really have to work hard to completely and absolutely piss everyone off , so congratulations Obama, you’ve not only found your true calling, you’ve managed to unite the country, just not in the way you imagined!
Again, what we are witnessing, with Sarah, is two fold. Part of this is her finally being able to be herself, and make her case to the American people, on her terms. Turns out, she incredibly good at that.
Second is all of those drunk on hopenchange are now sobering up and have one hell of a hang over. They are realizing that every single prediction Sarah made at her RNC speech, as well as on the stump, has come to pass. Now is the time for the big "I told ya so!"
This is leading to wild editorials from liberals such as David Michael Green, a professor of political science at Hofstra University in New York, where he says things like this:
You know, I've really been trying not to write an article every other week about all the things I don't like about Barack Obama.
But the little prick is making it very hard.
Like any good progressive, I've gone from admiration to hope to disappointment to anger when it comes to this president. Now I'm fast getting to rage.
How much rage? I find myself thinking that the thing I want most from the 2010 elections is for his party to get absolutely clobbered, even if that means a repeat of 1994. And that what I most want from 2012 is for him to be utterly humiliated, even if that means President Palin at the helm. That much rage.
Think this guy would have said something like that a year ago? You can read it all here, it’s worth it!
Of course, among Conservatives, Sarah has become the absolute favorite. She is the defacto leader of the movement.
Politico, which leans left, just ended a reader poll. Out of nearly 17,000 votes, Sarah was chosen by 47 % of the readers as the biggest winner of 2009. Number two was Obama at 19%. "Someone Else" was third!
In the People's Republic Of San Francisco, Sarah's book, Going Rogue, is number three in sales! This in a town were many booksellers were proud to proclaim they would not even offer it for sale!
Even far left Ed Schultz over at Obama Central, MSNBC proclaimed her the biggest winner, going so far as to say "Show me what she has done wrong!"
This is pretty strong language.
By anyone’s measure, whatever negative feelings that have been out there about Sarah Palin, slowly, methodically, and most assuredly, she is turning those around.
So let me end by saying this. Both Sarah and Hillary deserved to be called the most admired women in America. They earned it!
These two are both the biggest winners of 2009, by far.
Hillary is a big winner, because she’s managed to avoid the absolute taint that has hung over the Obama administration since day one. She might be the only one to walk away from this fiasco with something that resembles a career.
Of course, I’m incredibly biased and in my mind, Sarah Palin is the biggest winner of not only 2009, but of the entire decade. Absolutely everyone, but her strongest fans wrote her off when McCain lost the election in 2008.
This became a weekly ritual, anytime her name was mentioned. "X" was going to end her career, no matter what "X" was!
Then she "quit" as Governor. Oh my, political suicide. Yeah, right. Incredibly savvy move that completely changed the game on Obama and his Chicago street thug strategy of trying to stop her before she ever had a chance to come after him. This, it seems, has turned out to be a flawed strategy. There’s a reason why "they" say "let sleeping dogs lie" or "let well enough alone."
Up until midway through her book tour, we were told Sarah’s career was over. Then something happened. I don’t know if it was the big crowds, the great interviews, yucking it up with Shatner, or just the realization that this is one sharp woman, who is right more than she is wrong. One thing is for sure, there has been an incredible shift in the way most of the nation looks at Sarah Palin, and that’s not only a good thing for Sarah Palin, but a good thing for America.
America needs strong, fearless, and ethical leadership. That describes Sarah to a tee.
As we prepare to start a new year, and a new decade, America has found a true leader we can all get behind, and believe in. Someone who has the courage and ability to bring this nation away from the brink of destruction, and get it back on track.
America’s brightest and most exciting days are ahead of us, and Sarah Palin will be playing a major roll, bringing us not only energy and excitement, but the common sense and leadership we need to see this happen.
I for one cannot wait for 2010 and beyond!
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