All news of this sort is viewed through whatever political prism someone chooses to use. I believe I'm in that rare minority that doesn't use a prism and just calls it like it is. For instance I felt many Republicans during the Clinton years had a case of Clinton Derangement Syndrome. He was a somewhat decent president, never as bad as his critics suggested and never as good as his admirers. I feel the same about Bush. I could offer lots of criticisms of people from both political parties. The difference between me and most of those who use political prisms is that I don't check to see what political party someone is from before I decide whether what they did is good or bad.

So here is some straight truth about Palin. When she burst on the scene she was articulate, attractive, and well-liked. This was an immediate threat to the left because they want to perpetuate the image that Republicans and conservatives in particular are only representative of old white men. Also Palin showed an ability to be tough. She had a well earned reputation of taking on the good old boys in the Republican party in Alaska. She took on and beat a sitting Governor in the Republican primary. You have to know a little bit about politics to know how challenging and absolutely risky that was. Only liberal women are suppose to be assertive and tough so Palin shattered that myth. These are just some of the many reasons the media was against her from the beginning and determined to get her.

But wasn't she too inexperienced? Well she had been a mayor, and she had been the head of an important department dealing with oil in Alaska and been a sitting Governor. If you want to see if she was treated fairly based on her experience level all you have to do is go back to 1984 when the first woman was nominated for Vice President. Her name was Geraldine Ferarro. She was a one term congresswoman with no other relevant experiences. Were there vast criticisms from the media about her being inexperienced? Absolutely not. All you heard the media talk about was how ground-breaking this was for women. Double-standard? Of course. To suggest otherwise is complete ignorance.

Don't even get me started about the uneven treatment in the Vice Presidential debates. I can put up several statements that Biden made in that debate that were factually challenged. Stylistically Palin held her on in that debate, but substantively she was challenged.

More straight truth. Palin didn't help herself. Yes she was tough, and yes she was articulate, and yes she was attractive and at times even adorable. But in my view she was also over-confident. When she would be asked questions that she didn't know the answer to or was unfamiliar with the issues then she would talk in circles and cliche's. She also seemed to take things too personally. If you're going to be a conservative on the national stage then you have to accept being a victim of unfair attacks and mischaracterizations. It's one thing to be a victim, and it's quite another to take on the role of a victim. The press conference where she resigned was a disaster. She came off as a bitter victim.

My understanding from what I've read is that after the campaign was over Palin took things even more personally and began to take on a more defensive posture. One might argue that given all the pressure and attacks that this was a normal reaction, but at some point she's either got to shake it off or get out. That's why I cut her slack on resigning. I don't think it's good for her political career, but it may be what she needed to do at that time for herself and family. The problem I have though is those who still want to thrust her out on a national stage to run for President in 2012. I suspect there are many around her that are pumping her with false bravado that she can do this. Yes she is still popular in conservative circles, but her reactions to events tells that she is nowhere near ready for that kind of challenge. She relies way too much on rhetoric and doesn't seem to feel a need to grapple with the complex details of an issue. She needs to be able to talk about all issues the same as she can energy. I suspect that she wants a short-cut and doesn't want to put in the hard work right now. It took her years to come to an understanding of energy policy, and it will take the same for other issues.

The good that can come out of this is that we can see firsthand what will happen when someone from a different group than white men stands up and becomes a force for conservatism. Women will be come under all kinds of attacks like Palin. If it is an African American then they will have to deal with all kinds of accusations about being an Uncle Tom, and if it is a Latino then they'll engender their share of attacks as well. On a national level Democrats get a majority of women voters, over 90% of African Americans, and a sizable majority of Latinos. Yet in all but one recent election they still have a tough time getting near 50% in a presidential election. If Conservatives make any appreciable gains in any of those groups then it would produce a major swing in outcome. The media and the left know what's at stake. That's why they'll defend their territory to the death and ruthlessly attack any Republican candidate that challenges that territory.

To sum it up, Palin got in their cross-fire and reaped the results. She didn't handle it too well and became defensive and reactionary. Now she'll have to recover and regroup if she is to have a political career in the future.