Political mythology often trumps reality

Sun, Sep 14, 2008 (2:02 a.m.)

I have covered a few political myths in my time.

In 1988 U.S. Sen. Chic Hecht accused his opponent, Gov. Richard Bryan, of having a “private jet.” It was actually a state Transportation Department airplane.

In 2004 state Senate candidate Joe Heck and some third parties made it appear as if Ann O’Connell were some kind of profligate spender. O’Connell, one of the most conservative lawmakers in history, had signed on to a bill that would have raised $1.6 billion in taxes, but she did so out of protest.

And in 2006 Rep. Jon Porter portrayed his foe, Tessa Hafen, as a carpetbagger. Hafen was born in Henderson, many years before Porter moved into his district.

These were the kinds of creations Edith Hamilton would have greatly admired. But even she would have been stunned by the current mythmaking surrounding a goddess by the name of Sarah Palin. The Alaska governor, who was in Carson City on Saturday, was created, molded and immediately deified by the McCain campaign in one of the greatest spectacles in political history.

This stroke of brilliance or luck, or combination thereof, not only has changed the presidential race dynamic, but it has fundamentally shown what can be done in the New Media Age. If Homer and Virgil had access to 30-second ads or blogs, think what more they could have accomplished.

Palin is like some stupendous sum of all Democratic fears and all Republican hopes, a woman with the power to hypnotize one side and terrify the other. Has she a heel like Achilles, is her weakness a stone’s throw away like Goliath’s, or is she invincible?

She already has accomplished something that, even in the political world, where the great can seem small and the small great, is close to a miracle. In just a fortnight she has taken the conceit of an omnipotent Barack Obama, standing in the shadow of those columns a mile high (not quite Olympus but ...), and reduced the Democratic nominee to a more diminutive figure than the previously unknown, not even half-term governor of a state most people don’t know much about.

How does this happen? That is, how does a woman who supported the Bridge to Nowhere before she couldn’t anymore but still claims to have killed it, a woman who apparently used Fahrenheit 451 as one of her bibles, and a woman who is accused of cronyism and abusing travel budgets get elevated to deity status without having to make any interim stops?

Palin’s interview with ABC’s Charlie Gibson is instructive if you take the time to watch it — her regurgitation of facile talking points, her cluelessness about the Bush Doctrine, her bellicose bleatings about Russia. If anyone — Republican, Democrat, independent, sentient human being — still feels comfortable with her stepping into the presidency after that, he lives in the fantasy world that has been brilliantly erected around her, like a cocoon that seals in the myth and doesn’t allow truth to escape.

The chutzpah here is astonishing. Oh, I have seen brazenness before, too — it is endemic to campaigns, especially this time of year. But to keep bragging about the Nowhere Bridge, simply because it is getting the ticket somewhere, and to try to rally women by falsely accusing Obama of calling Palin a “pig” is beyond belief. Next I’ll see Pegasus flying around or a Minotaur at the zoo.

As a political observer and ever-learning student of the game, I am not quite sure whether to view this with admiration or horror. But the irony here is so rich: Hillary Clinton ran against Obama on the premise that he was a myth created by the media, which has sent Republicans into orbit as they have argued the Obama legend is based on wisps. So now the Democrats are writhing and ranting because the McCain campaign has created a myth of its own.

In John Ford’s seminal Western, “The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance,” the truth about the eponymous shooter finally is revealed, exploding a myth that elevated a good man to power. But a newspaper editor refuses to publish it, declaring, “This is the West, Sir. When the legend becomes fact, print the legend.”

And why not? It’s always a better story.

And when it comes to The Legend of Sarah Palin, the media may be printing the truth about her less-than-mythic proportions. But as Bryan almost found out and O’Connell and Hafen did — and considering the general antipathy toward the media and the McCain campaign’s skill in myth-telling — people may just prefer to vote for the legend.

Discussion: 6 comments so far…

By geezelouise

9/14/08 at 7:30 a.m.

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Jon, great article.

Now, if you can get the truth out there for all to see.

I cannot believe how stupid people are. They would much rather believe a lie than the truth.

My fellow citizens, take off the blinders and see the truth here. You are being lied to by another politician that will sell you snake oil and then laugh all the way to the white house.
By jfnance32

9/14/08 at 8:58 a.m.

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And Mr. Change and Audacity of Hope is not a much of hype and chutzpah?

What has he done?

Written 2 books?

Part-time senator and full-time campaigner for 3 years?

State senator for 7 years?

What great thing has Obama accomplishment in his life?

Nothing...........except fool 18 million Democrats to vote for him.

The other 18 million had the brains to vote for winner...Hillary.

Now, the Democrats have to ride this horse that should be 10-15 points but now is a few points behind.
By Future2012

9/14/08 at 8:48 p.m.

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Even Jon Ralston could not detail the four (4) different "Bush Doctrines", so that we can see that Sarah covered the pre-emptive one.

Since there are four this is why Sarah needed to know which one Charlie Gibson meant.

While ABC’s Charlie Gibson messed his got-ya question up completely.

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Last time I looked only Congress can pass earmarks, and Obama and Biden both approved the bridge to nowhere. McCain did not, and Palin never was in the position to approve it- and she did not use the monies for the bridge.
By KDR81

9/15/08 at 9:56 a.m.

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Republicans took a page from the Democrats when they selected Mrs. Palin.

When you can't beat em, join em.

...probably why Republicans expanded government authority, centralized control, and raised spending.
By bayardj

9/16/08 at 2:55 p.m.

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Obama supportes would be well served to ignore Palin and the whole Palin factor. Any discussion about her is a trap designed to turn this election into a character assignation competition. This is the same stale bait that the Republicans repeatedly employ that the poor old Democrats of the past two decades fall for every time. Whether we agree or not, rural folk, christian folk, "small town america" love(s) Palin - just like they did Truman, and Reagan. They see themselves in these simpleton politicians. Any attempt to discredit her enables the Republican establishment to go on Fox, etc, and play their favorite two cards:

(1) Ya see folks, them liberals are a bunch of elitist who don't want folk like you and me governin'. They sneer at yall because they don't really love America (just like we hate city slickers).

(2) We're the real Americans - true Patriots through and through - just like yall (never mind that our tax structure smothers the American dream by making us owners richer and you workers poorer, or that we are taking away your constitutional rights).

This transparent strategy is based solely upon the apparent incompetence of the Democratic party and the corporate media, and it seems to work every presidential election (except against Carter and Clinton, two 'aw shucks' southerners, who countered by playing up their own common folksiness).

Any argument about Palin being inexperienced or unqualified is exactly what McCain's team (Karl Roves best men) wanted all along because we just wind up comparing our presidential nominee to their veep nominee. So even when we win this obvious argument - we actually lose (votes).

But instead of us complaining about all the 'gotcha journalism', which sells more ads than covering the actual platforms would - We should inform people about Obama's plan to revitalize the economy by creating a green infrastructure, complete with green jobs. Talk about Obama's tax code versus McCain's, or what we are spending in our bloody misguided occupation of Iraq. Discuss our beloved country's current amoral policies on torture, and how these reflect on American/Christian values. Talk about anything, but about someone who may be Vice President, which in her case is an impotent job that no one actually votes for or against.

The real issues are far too important - please!
By tdlit

9/21/08 at 4:53 p.m.

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In trying to understand why AIG, Bear Stearns, Merrill Lynch and Lehman Brothers have collapsed I listened to Michael Greenberger a law professor at University of Maryland School of Law when he was interviewed by NPR Terry Gross http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story... on April 3, 2008 and http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story... on Sept 17, 2008.

Now both these interviews are very detailed discussions of how the market ended in the mess it is now. I have done some research on what Greenberger is talking about and
essentially he is talking about a bill that was a 262 page rider on an 11,000 page bill that was pushed thru by Republican Majority Congress just before 2000 Christmas recess, drafted by lawyers of investment banks from Wall Street introduced by Phil Gramm (Former Republican Senator now an former advisor (gone in July 2008) for Republican Candidate John McCain). This bill was called "Commodity Futures Modernization Act" (HR5660 & S3283) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Commodity_F... and allowed for "credit default swap". Now, the Democrats have their fingerprints on this also. They are not innocent. There were two Democratic Senators Harkin (IA) and Johnson (SD) and one former House Rep LaFalce (NY) plus President Clinton signed the bill in Dec 21, 2000. So this is not to just point a finger at the Republicans though I feel that they are to blame and they certainly have done nothing since to reverse this law and they have had the power to do so. Now our children and grandchildren will be paying for our mistakes for a long time. So how do we fix this? First we must fix this regulation and other like it, second we cannot elect Senator McCain because he does not understand any of this (he has said so himself) and one of his experts is the architect (Phil Gramm) of the problem. Please vote for people that understand what has driven this economy into the ground.
Teresa Littman

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