The Bishop and the Butterfly: Murder, Politics, and the End of the Jazz Age

    Sarah Barracuda

    By Ripper on Fri, 08/29/2008 - 4:52pm |
    The most salient point for Democrats to consider about John McCain's new veep, Sarah Palin, is that her looks are deceiving.

    Exuding what the Anchorage Daily News, in a 2006 article, called an "almost Clintonlike" warmth, former beauty queen Palin has consciously positioned herself as a reformer by leaving a trail of political foes — and friends — who she has broken and used as stepping stones.
    But her political opponents say there was another side to the charming candidate -- one captured by her nickname from those basketball years, "Sarah Barracuda." Supporters consider the name a testament to her aggressive play and ferocious defense. But opponents said the name captured a predatory instinct that Palin could turn on friend as well as foe -- one they said occasionally revealed itself in the mayoral years to come.
    Palin's meteoric political career has risen less on being ruthlessly reformist and more on being just plain ruthless. She is not above using any advantage she might have, from unabashedly displaying her feminine charms to oddly inserting pro-life rhetoric into her mayoral campaign, from championing regressive sales taxes in place of property and business taxes to sacrificing the careers of even her political allies and sponsors.

    If you read one introduction to Sarah Palin, read the article by Alaska's largest newspaper I link to above.