Take Sarah Palin, Please!

Recently a friend asked why some Democratic women harbor such antipathy towards Sarah Palin. Is it that she is not Hillary? Is it something more?

My first thought in answering this was that I do not want Sarah Palin to lead our country because she is stupid. Crafty, yes, and shrewd, but lacking in breadth and depth, a small mind in her own small world, centered on things black, white, punitive and restricting. But such an answer is too crude and flip. I expanded my thoughts, and I am posting them here.

My feelings about Sarah Palin have nothing to do with Hillary, and everything to do with leadership.

Looking at John McCain these days, it seems apparent that his health is suffering from the stress of the campaign. I would not be at all surprised if he has undisclosed health problems that will surface within the next months or years. We must choose a vice president with the confidence that, if necessary, this person could make a seamless transition to President of the United States, the most difficult and challenging role imaginable.

I don’t want a leader who brings the role of world leader down to the level of a fourth grader, which is what, I am sorry to say, Sarah Palin does. I don’t want a “WallMart” politician whose strongest asset is relating to the average citizen. I am sorry if it sounds “elitist”, but what I want is a LEADER.

I want a leader whose wisdom and learning goes far beyond mine, someone who takes the time to learn about the world and the cultures of its people, someone who understands the nuances of diplomacy, someone who is solidly versed in the basics and complexities of economics. Someone with expansive open ended thinking who is comfortably familiar with the history of this country and the world, someone who will recognize the pitfalls of repeating disastrous patterns. Someone who has taken the time to study policy and can trace the roots of current political processes and policies to the great thinkers who laid the foundations of our country Someone who truly understands the responsibilities that come with leadership.

I want someone who can think on his or her feet, pulling in knowledge from sources and books that I don’t even know exist. Someone who truly values education, and will support our students and our schools, someone who measures educational progress through more equitable and meaningful criteria than improved standardized test scores. I want a leader who is a statesman, a scholar, a diplomat a negotiator. I want someone who values life in the broadest sense, not just the fetal sense. I want a leader who will work with others to devise an affordable health care system that will be available to every American. Someone who will strive towards the impossible goal of helping the citizens of this country reach their full potential. Someone who sees the dangerous road we are on where wealth, resources, and ultimately power,accumulate in the hands of the chosen few.

I want someone who has worked hard to achieve a leadership position through years of both formal education and hands-on experience. I want someone who has sacrificed for knowledge, a person whose vision is not limited by self interest and reaches beyond the United States to every corner of the world. Someone who knows the geography of the world, can mentally position where countries are in the world, knows the names and positions of world leaders and where they stand in relation to one another. I want someone has made the effort to learn about diverse systems of government, someone who can let go of the notion of American isolationism and be willing to learn from, and work with, other people and other countries to explore new ways of solving problems. I want someone believes government is by the people, for the people and of the people, and that that is something good and valuable, not to be disparaged or demeaned.

So that’s my ideal. Obviously not Sarah Palin. Not even close. I do not want her speaking for me.