On to the actual book. As I stated above, my expectations were not high for the book. The author Kaylene Johnson seemed to have one job, make Sarah Palin look good. One great thing about the book is that Johnson provides a log of all the interviews and emails she used in writing the book. I do appreciate that transparency. I think it proves the book was not meant to compete with the likes of Team of Rivals. It's right between Tom Cruise extolling the virtues of LRH (L. Ron Hubbard for the uninitiated) and Oprah gushing over Barack Obama. From reading this book, I think an Obama-Palin ticket would have been unstoppable and they could be the rulers of the Multi-verse.
Seriously, onto the actual book. The book is really a rough overview of the life of Sarah Palin finding virtue in just about everything she ever did, or least that was recorded in the book. We start with the Heath's (Palin's family) moving to Wasilla. We learn of Sarah's tenacity growing up and her driver to get more playing time while playing basketball, which culminated in winning the state championship her senior year. It was this tenacity and drive that finally led Sarah into politics and she ran for mayor of Wasilla, against some odds. She followed that up with a run for the Lieutenant Governer, which she lost. She took the loss in stride and the next election took on the race for the Governorship. This time she won, despite running a barebones campaign against the well established good 'ole boys network. According to the book, it was Sarah honesty and willingness to challenge the establishment. She came into office and followed up on her promises and cut the budget. She even went as far as selling the state jet on Ebay. A lot of the qualities she seemed to show as governor were actually quite impressive. I was a little surprised the book did not dwell on her faith a whole lot, especially considering the publisher is a Christian publisher.
Despite my cynical remarks, I have more appreciation for Sarah Palin having read the book. I take the book at its face, meaning I didn't expect it to be too in depth. It was certainly a book rushed to capitalize on the moment. Though the author did not touch on the weaknesses of Palin, I still thought the book made an honest effort to touch on meaningful aspects of Palin's character. Though a lot of Liberals don't like her, mainly due to he conservatism and religious convictions, she seems to have a strong side to her that I think a lot of Liberals would appreciate. In spite of the $150,000 wardrobe for the Presidential campaign, she does seem to be a bit of a minimalist. She doesn't necessarily fit the Republican political stereotype and I think she might even be more of an actual maverick than John McCain.
Since the campaign, Palin has received a great deal of criticism from the McCain insiders. Knowing what is real and what is BS is not an easy chore. I don't believe the statements about Palin's apparent confusion regarding Africa. That sounds like a cheap shot. I don't doubt that she rubbed some folks the wrong way. I don't think she was the right choice for McCain. I think all in all she has the same level of experience as Obama. She lacked the polish and that's what did her in. I think she has the potential to at least make some waves next time. I think being governor for a few more years will be more helpful too. A short stint as a mayor and one year as a governor doesn't provide enough to measure her executive skills. Obama's experience lacks as well, but I already addressed some of those issues previously.
In short the book wasn't that great, but it's not horrible. It's the kind of book you want to pick up if you're really bored and weird, like me. I would recommend this over other books like The Secret. It might actually be a good book to have a young girl read to encourage her to take on opportunities that are normally perceived as male only.
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