Palin's "Going Rogue" is a Winner!

Well, I finally got through it. Not because it was hard to get through, just because with work, school, the grandkids, my writing and life in general, there's not a whole lot of time for much else. But I got through it, and I loved it.

My wife bought me a copy of Going Rogue for Christmas in '09. She knew I had been a Palin supporter before most people even knew who she was and that I had really wanted to read the book. I picked it up every now and again to read a few pages or a chapter or two. It was funny, fascinating, frustrating and a mix of knowing nods along the way.

This book will not change any minds that are vehemently opposed to Sarah Palin. For one of two reasons. First, because someone told them to not like her; whether during the campaign in 2008 or on some news / radio show since. The second is because they are flaming liberals who just couldn't hold a conservative thought in their head if their lives depended on it.

I say the latter jokingly, of course, since I have numerous liberal friends and family members. But only half so. Why the political elites and the media (my English professor would hate my use of that word here, but hey, it's me - unconventional) have so much vitriol when speaking of the former Governor, I still have a hard time figuring out. I have a theory, and it seems to be played out in Going Rogue very nicely.

Palin is the real deal. She is from the real America. And when I say this, I don't mean she's Franklin or Jefferson or Paine (yeah, Glenn, I compared her to Paine). I mean she is real, period, like us. She is like your friend or cousin or neighbor who ran for office. She's the local mailman pr grocery store owner who had enough of the nonsense and decided to do something about it. What she is not is Giuliani or Romney or Forbes or Limbaugh, she is not the millionaire, Harvard grad, tenured professor elitist that have been running this country for way too long. And I don't mean to suggest that Alaska is America. But it embodies is what made America great. Its spirit, its can-do attitude, its zest for doing things right and looking out for your neighbor is what makes it what America is / was / will be again.

Going Rogue takes the reader on an intimate passenger seat ride with Palin from the roots of her decisions to get into public life and why, to difficult time post-election when the media and others continued to blast and hound and file frivolous charges.

One of the most memorable lines for me (besides Sarah's dad saying she's "not retreating, she's reloading!" - which was priceless) was in the closing part of the book where she reminds us about government's role in America. At least the role government is supposed to be playing.

"The role of government," Palin writes, "is not to perfect us [with utopian promises] but to protect us . . . to protect our inalienable rights." I wish more politicians realized this bit of truth.

Going Rogue, as I said, is not going to change the minds of those who vehemently hate Sarah Palin, though I recommend they at least read the book through to get a firmer understanding of what it is they hate or fear. And it probably won't change the minds of those who decided, from information gleaned though a very biased media, that they just don't like or trust her, I say you need to read this book to get a new insight into what politics is and what politics should be. Of course, if you are already a Palin supporter, and like the proverbial duck all this stuff has washed off your back, I highly recommend you read this book. If not for all the great info than for all the fun stuff that will put a smile on your face and let you nod in agreement.

Going Rogue (ISBN 978-0-06-193989-1) from Harper Collins Publishers (NY, NY), 2009, 413 pages. Available in bookstores, online, at the library (if you have a good librarian) or from a friend.

(Author's note - Author was not paid by the book's author, publisher or promoter. Author also did not receive any renumeration, gifts or special priveleges from aforementioned persons.)