Mark Sanford and Sarah Palin

Mark Sanford showed on many occasions that he didn't much like Sarah Palin. One reason (not one Sanford would cite) is that Gov. Palin is an incredibly disciplined, focused individual. By contrast, Sanford is what John Edwards called himself: an egotist and narcissist. Father of four and governor of a state with millions of people, Sanford lives in a world inhabited by one person: himself. He hurts other people, ranging from his wife and children to his mistress, because they are some not "real" in his mind and heart.

We all need friends who will tell us the truth, and I fear Sanford had only people (aside from his impressive spouse, Jenny) who told him what he wanted to hear. It's almost amazing to hear how childish Sanford is. His view of life, marriage, romance is right out of 1950s movies -- or modern soap operas. For all I know, Sanford may "love" Jenny, but it's a shallow form of love that doesn't include the most important element: respect for his wife.

I knew a professor at the University of Georgia, Calvin Brown, a Rhodes scholar, who had a student say to him: "I just want to be myself." Brown told him, "Really? You should aim higher than that."

The man (Sanford) has four children for goodness sake. And he's no more than a child himself.

Why Some Conservatives Dislike Palin

Why do some conservatives -- including a couple who appear on FOX -- dislike Sarah Palin? Part of its traces back to the time McCain named her as his V-P choice. Both liberal and conservative journalist's got caught with their pants down. Their refrain might have been, "Why didn't anybody tell in advance, so we could have put her on our 'short list'?"

At the Glenn Beck rally in San Antonio, Janine Turner (my long-time heroine) gave tremendous support for Sarah Palin, and the most recognizable signs at many rallies were "ReadMyLipstick" in regard to Sarah and taxes.

O'Reilly cited the Politco poll that showed her with fairly high negatives, but that survey is very suspect since Jonathan Martin, head of Politico, is no fan of Sarah's. Hannity likes Sarah; Beck does (partly because he has a special needs child), and so obviously does Greta. FOX really loves the dour Mark Sanford, who has no chance of being elected to anything outside of SC.

Some at FOX may fear Sarah because she's a (shudder) Republican and governs as a (double shudder) centrist. She's not a gay-basher (far from it), and walks the pro-life path rather than yammer about it constantly. She's not an ideologue, and frankly many on the Left and on the Right are more comfortable with ideologues, who talk the predictable lines. Sarah governs in accord with the state and federal Constitutions -- how novel is that?

Sarah reminds me of Robert Frost's epitaph: "He had a lover's quarrel with the world." As SNL producer Lorne Michaels (a liberal) said about Sarah, she's a model of "graciousness." Most big-time politicians are NOT gracious (or nice). Sarah never said anything negative about HRC before, during, or after the campaign, even though they disagree on various things. She realizes that if it wasn't for Hillary, McCain would not have chosen her for the ticket.

In fact, some of Sarah's strongest supporters are Democrats (current and former) and/or feminists, such as Elaine Lafferty, Camille Paglia, Tammy Bruce, Artemis March, Marnie Delano, Karen Hill, Anne Franklin, Shelley Mandel (head of LA NOW), Kathy (Puma4Palin), S.E. Cupp, and Lynn Rothschild (during the campaign at least). Ironically, a good deal of the feminist support has to do with . . . Todd Palin, the good-looking macho guy who changes the diapers and has no spouse envy.

My constant refrain lately has been: THERE'S NOTHING WRONG WITH SARAH PALIN. She's a principled human being, a great wife and mother, and an elected official of unparalleled integrity and ability. Some will never forgive her for having those qualities, which make lesser beings feel uncomfortable . . . and envious.