Drew Griffin
CNN Special Investigations Unit
Immediately after Gov. Sarah Palin’s surprise unveiling as GOP vice presidential nominee — I was shocked that so many people – including pundits, e-mailers, talk show hosts and politicians — knew so much about her.
When I was given this assignment to produce an hour-long documentary on the Alaska governor, I had no idea who she was. To be perfectly honest I didn’t even know the governor of Alaska was a “she.”
But apparently everyone else did, and they all had an opinion about her.
Of course the opinions were equally divided based on your political leanings. Democrats began e-mailing reporter types with their talking points: evil, vindictive, lightweight, a conservative Christian out to tell us how to breed, teach and read. In a word, dangerous.
Republican talking points included: outside-the-beltway, corruption fighter, executive experience. A real person grounded in family, country and apple pie. (Make that moose burgers). And, it turns out, the celebrity antidote to the Obama star factor.
Sarah Palin turns out to be much more human than either the Republicans or Democrats would have you believe.
What struck me most about Palin is how accidentally she fell into this business.
Sens. John McCain, Barack Obama and Joe Biden all deliberately entered politics as a career.
Palin entered the tiny world of her politics as a PTA mom-turned-city-council-member-turned mayor.
I am not naïve enough to believe she had no political ambition beyond Wasilla and the great state of Alaska.
But I am convinced her meteoric rise started with a mom’s simple involvement in her children schools. And if nothing else, that is refreshing in national politics.
http://siu.blogs.cnn.com/2008/09/16/palin-from-pta-to-vp-nominee/
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