(Half) Baked Alaska

I saw the announcement where Sarah Palin has an eight-part “documentary” beginning soon on The Learning Channel.  There’s an oxymoron:  Sarah Palin on The Learning Channel.

Still, this is the latest example of the successful marketing campaign that took advantage of one favorable break (thank yous inserted here for John McCain) and shoved a once-obscure washed-up television wannabe into everybody’s face to turn her into a daily media event.  We have Sarah the book, Sarah the fund raiser, Sarah the pulpit rattler, Sarah the political TV commentator.  Tabloids and tabloid television promotes Sarah the Mamma Grizzly by selling Bristol the dancer and Bristol the little grizzly for the mindless who hunger for more Alaskan sizzle.   Sarah’s even proven to be a star-maker:  where would Tina Fey be without Sarah Palin?   

Here’s the remarkable part:  according to public opinion polls, Sarah the personality has a favorable rating of 22 per cent, only slightly above the Dick Cheney line.  What’s more, her negative rating is at a whopping 72 per cent.  (Makes one wonder how the other 6 per cent can’t seem to make up its mind, but Mamma Grizzly does have a large family.)  The point being that we collectively can’t seem to get enough of someone the numbers suggest we by and large can’t stand.

In light of all of this, I think I finally “got” the phenomenon that is Sarah Palin.  Think of her as Paris Hilton.  She’s seen everywhere -television, personal appearances, magazine covers – yet we’re not really sure why.

One big difference, though.  I think Paris Hilton has read Mark Twain, where Sarah Palin has not:

It is better to keep your mouth closed and let people think you are a fool, than to open it and remove all doubt.