Tuesday, March 8, 2011

Guts

In perusing the news today, I came across an excellent article in the Wall Street Journal by Brian Carney. In this article, he reflects on his interview with notable historian, Paul Johnson.

Most noteworthy to me, in this interview, are his comments on Sarah Palin. Here is the quote from the article:
"She's got courage. That's very important in politics. You can have all the right ideas and the ability to express them. But if you haven't got guts, if you haven't got courage the way Margaret Thatcher had courage—and [Ronald] Reagan, come to think of it. Your last president had courage too—if you haven't got courage, all the other virtues are no good at all. It's the central virtue."
When I look at Sarah Palin, I fully agree with his assessment. This woman has taken an absolute POUNDING by the media, the left and some on the right. Despite that, she keeps coming back, gaining popularity and new supporters, while standing by her principles. If some in politics were hammered the way she has been, I wonder if they would be able to get out of bed in the morning and keep going in the same direction. Sarah Palin keeps going, she doesn't care about her critics and she rises above. That not only takes character, but that takes guts! This speaks volumes of how she has developed her ideology, how she has led in Alaska and will lead, if she were to be elected president.

Johnson puts her up with the greats of Ronald Reagan and Margaret Thatcher, two leaders who stood by their principles, while dodging criticism (and bullets) yet had the guts and the courage to go on. Their views may have been unpopular by some, but they did not deviate in working to achieve their goal. Those guts, that courage, allowed Thatcher and Reagan (and Pope John Paul II) to work cooperatively, setting the course as strong leaders, to bring an end to the Soviet Union and Communism in Eastern Europe. Their guts, courage and resolve in leadership also inspired many in my generation, Generation X, to rise up as leaders, and I believe we will continue with this trend, seeing more rise up in the years to come and it will be because of the eventually minted 9-11 Generation, that America will survive.

Despite the view of some in the Republican Party questioning her electability, Sarah Palin has an excellent shot at winning the primary, if she wants it. She is the most consistent conservative of those running, has executive experience, can face and rise above the pressure and criticisms of the job, and as Paul Johnson believes, she has the guts to keep going!

2 comments:

  1. The first thing I noticed about Sarah was that she is fearless. Then I learned she is a natural leader with the ‘Right’ ideas.

    Sarah has stood up to corrupt Republicans, and corrupt oil companies, and anybody else in order to do her job and serve the people. She shows no fear of the Obama regime including the press. For more than two years, she has been THE target - putting herself in political harm’s way. For her, the cause has been worth it. She earns her support.

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  2. I wonder what else they could hit her with in 2012, as it seems they've tried it all...and failed.

    Before Sarah Palin came on to the public stage, I knew of her and was a big fan of her's. By examining the articulation of her ideology, along with her respone to attacks, she has earned my vote in 2012. Let's see if she runs.

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