The Sarah Palin in All of Us...

Most people think Sarah Palin isn't very smart. Palin has sounded like an idiot on more than a few occasions in recent weeks - the train wreck Katie Couric interview comes to mind.

Now of course, it wouldn't be such a big deal if Sarah Palin was Just One of Us (i.e ordinary folk). But her nonanswers crumble under the intense scrutiny of the 24-hour news media and the persistent vivisection by the blogging elite. Palin's opponent in the election for governor in Alaska says: "During the campaign, Palin's knowledge on public policy issues never matured—because it didn't have to. Her ability to fill the debate halls with her presence and her gift of the glittering generality made it possible for her to rely on populism instead of policy."

But really, let's think for a second. In reality, we all know someone like Palin - someone who thinks CNN.com is a haven for intellectual discussion but doesn't read anything beyond that because said person is too busy reading pink books with shoes or clothes on them. (For example, Sarah Palin reads all newspapers). Of course, people are way too self-absorbed to notice that the person they are conversing with is not actually saying much of anything - they are just repeating generalizations and stereotypes a la Willy Loman. Here are some common scenarios that we have all encountered:

Scenario 1: You are having man problems. The guy you like or are vaguely interested in may possibly be an asshole. So you turn to your Palinesque friend for advice: "Wow, I mean I think he's cute, but he's been really critical of me - like he told me that I just 'borrow' my opinions about important subjects from The New York Times. I mean, it's rude, but am I being too hard on him?"
Your friend says, "Oh wow, he doesn't deserve you! You deserve way better."

And so, all you are left with is that you deserve better, but she really doesn't specify as to what kind of guy you deserve exactly. Maybe you deserve a guy who reads The New York Times, too, and also lacks original opinions. Or maybe you need a guy who actually has opinions so you can borrow his. Whatever the case may be, she just provides a stock answer that you could have gotten from talking to yourself or from reading an article in Cosmo.

Scenario 2: Your favorite new show is Mad Men, which is complex and symbolically rich, so you would like to discuss it with someone. Say you are confused about what happened on this week's show, where the metaphors and themes are not as obvious as Meredith's voice-overs at the end of Grey's Anatomy. You come up with an articulate-sounding analysis about the show, a skill you got bullshitting as an English major at some pretentious liberal arts school. You present it to your friend, and he/she says, "OMG Don Draper is so hot!" Nevermind the fact that Don Draper is an amoral philanderer who is going through an existential crisis, but the way he slicks back his hair and handles a martini is...hot. Of course, your friend did save you from sounding like a pretentious, pompous drone, so there's that silver lining.

While Sarah Palin may show what is great about America - a place where dreams can come true - where a simple, folksy hockey mom with a funny accent can become a GOP vice-presidential candidate - it also reveals its fundamental weakness. The American political system rewards mediocrity; if Sarah Palin is Just Like Us with her plain speaking and vernacular expressions of "goshdarnit," then she deserves to be VP. At the same time, Palin reveals the human weaknesses of ordinary folk - how in a time when it is suddenly cool to be a geek, many of us fumble unarticulately about things we know absolutely nothing about.

--By Mariam, who thinks it must be bad for McCain-Palin campaign if North Carolina is a battleground state.