By Brian M. Boyce
TERRE HAUTE — As Christmas looms around the calendar’s corner, some Wabash Valley residents might just find Sarah Palin going rogue beneath their tree.
“I’m not sure she’s the answer for the Republican Party, but she’s very interesting,” Clay City resident Marilyn Bahney said late Tuesday afternoon in Books-A-Million. A cashier placed two copies of Palin’s new book “Going Rogue: An American Life” into her bag.
Bahney, a teacher at the Rural Community Academy charter school in Graysville, said her son, a high school sophomore, is a big Palin fan, as is her daughter-in-law in Atlanta. The 2008 GOP vice-presidential candidate’s book about the campaign trail seemed a logical choice for Christmas presents, she said, describing herself as conservative-leaning.
Palin’s book hit stores Tuesday following a publicity tour that included an appearance on “The Oprah Winfrey Show,” a move Books-A-Million general manager Mike Gordon said never hurts sales.
“[Sales have] been pretty robust,” he said, noting he’d refilled the book’s display case a few times throughout the day. “We’ve had a lot of calls.”
Gordon said it was too early to tabulate first-day sales figures, but he anticipates the story of America’s first female Republican vice-presidential candidate to do well.
Palin’s book, her family and the socio-political issues involved continue to generate interest more than a year after Republican Sen. John McCain lost the presidential election to then Democratic Sen. Barack Obama. The term “going rogue” was reportedly first used by McCain aides to describe Palin’s moves independent of the campaign, and the tales of those disputes dominate much of the book.
Bill Treadway, chairman of the Vigo County Republican Party, said Palin is a dynamic figure and one he wouldn’t count out of the political future.
“I think she’s a very interesting lady,” he said, noting he and other Wabash Valley Republicans attended one of Palin’s campaign rallies last fall in Noblesville. “There were thousands of people there, she’s definitely a popular person.”
Popular, he noted, particularly among conservative Christians and a large segment of the GOP identifying itself as socially conservative. Meanwhile, the former Alaska governor is extremely disliked by liberals, Treadway said, because she’s not a member of the East Coast elite, doesn’t have an Ivy League degree and doesn’t travel in those circles.
“And the fact that she’s a woman who is proud to be a conservative, it’s kind of the opposite of some of the more radical feminists we’ve had over the years, like Gloria Steinem,” Treadway said, adding liberal disdain for Palin only increases her appeal to conservatives.
Palin’s midterm resignation from the Alaskan governorship earlier this year should not damage her electability if she chooses to re-enter the political arena, Treadway said. Voters either believe in her ability to govern or they don’t, and there doesn’t appear to be much middle ground there, he explained.
Conversely, writing her off as a potential candidate in the 2012 presidential election, or for other political office, isn’t wise, he said. “They do that at their own risk.”
President Ronald Reagan was once written off as a “joke” and just an actor, he said, pointing out that the public seems interested in bringing outsiders into office now more than ever. Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, who was a Republican candidate for president in 2008, also is doing well in recent polls, Treadway said, noting that he, too, is seen as an outsider.
And Palin’s status as a female vice-presidential candidate brings another dynamic to the discussion, particularly in light of a race which featured a 72-year-old man, the first woman and the first African-American to headline Democratic and Republican presidential campaigns.
“Females are very sophisticated voters,” Treadway said, remarking at the difficulty in “pigeonholing” their support. History tends to show that women won’t support a female candidate simply because of gender, he said, naming economic and military security as higher priorities.
Future candidate or not, the next presidential election is three years away, and Gordon hopes to sell a lot of books in the meantime.
Brian Boyce can be reached at 812-231-4253 or brian.boyce@tribstar.com.
