The latest effort by liberals in their ongoing campaign to neutralize Sarah Palin is to keep her from leaving Alaska to attend events like CPAC (the Conservative Political Action Conference) on the grounds that she’s “not putting Alaska first” if she does events outside the state. Now, I realize that folks on the Left don’t really care whether this is true or not; they simply want to use this to accomplish two things: one, to keep her from providing leadership and energy to a national GOP that badly needs both; and two, they hope, to chip away at her popularity in Alaska enough that they can defeat her in next year’s election. That said, they clearly think that Alaskans will buy the charge, or else they wouldn’t be complaining about this. For my part, I hope that the people of Alaska don’t buy it, because to do so would be remarkably short-sighted.To explain why I say this, let me use myself as an example. I have more reason to think about Alaska than most Americans in the Lower 48. I grew up in the Pacific Northwest, in western Washington, near the coast. I have friends who live in Alaska year-round, and others who spend part of the year up there. My parents have made several trips to Alaska; in consequence, my three girls have a number of Alaska books and T-shirts. When I was looking for a church in 2006-07, there were congregations in a couple places in Alaska that I really wanted to talk to, until my wife reminded me that my mother-in-law would filet me alive if I took her grandchildren that far away from Michigan. (We ended up in Indiana instead. Less scenic, but definitely safer.)And how often did I think about Alaska before I started researching Gov. Palin? Occasionally. Very occasionally. How often do I think about Alaska now? A good deal more often. I know a lot more about the state, its issues, and its contributions to the health and strength of our nation than I did. Why? Because of Gov. Palin—because her arrival on the national political scene brought her state into the national political consciousness in a whole new way.As a consequence, I think it’s fair to say that for Gov. Palin to be speaking and making appearances around the country, including on major media, would not be putting Alaska second or shortchanging her home state (as long as she continues to carry out the responsibilities of her job, at least, which I have no doubt she will); rather, for her to do so would be a real benefit to the Great Land, because in keeping her own profile high, she will keep Alaska’s profile high as well—and that can only be a good thing for this most federally-dependent state in the Union.
