If this is rogue, what is right?

During these past two weeks, a new word/catch phrase has entered the American lexicon, "rogue". Rogue is well on its way to joining the ranks of Taliban, Al Qaeda, and water boarding (made its big debut in 2008). These are not just mere words or names, but they symbolize the media’s heavy influence on Americans as proven by the quick integration of these words into our regular vocabulary.

We, as Americans, love to jump on the bandwagon. Rogue has stepped to the forefront because of Mrs. Sarah Palin. She has just published a book, Going Rogue. It’s supposed to be her tell-all of what was really going on behind the scenes of the ill-fated McCain-Palin campaign for the White House in 2008. There is so much chatter about this book and about Mrs. Palin, in general. She has certainly been on a media blitz to promote this book. I don’t know if it is more about securing her political future or making sure that the publisher receives a return on the alleged $1.2 million advance she was paid for this book.

Whether you love or hate her, Sarah Palin grabs our attention. This eye winking, “Joe six-pack” loving, hockey mom commanded the stage with her seemingly quick wit and digs at then-Senator and Presidential candidate Barack Obama. For a minute or two, she was able to outshine the man responsible for her celebrity, John McCain. He was more famous for choosing this pistol of a running mate rather than running for President himself.

I don’t get Sarah Palin at all. She is a definite contradiction. If this is rogue, then what is right? Palin claims that there was an issue when she decided to go “off message.” I thought that the goal was to be honest with the American people and now she has revealed that this was not the case. I can only imagine what was scripted and what was “off message.” These moments seemed to occur when there was a slip in the polls or she wasn’t quite the media darling of the week. When her remarks were snarky, was that at the direction of the McCain staffers or were those her true feelings? I don’t know if the book is meant to portray Sarah Palin as a victim or a heroine. Was she a victim of the right or just her own worst enemy?

It is easy to point the finger and write a tell-all after the fact. Imagine if she had landed in the White House as Vice President with all of the Republican Party behind her. Would she have felt compelled to reveal the behind-the-scenes handling before she was sworn in? Sarah Palin may not have known just how deep the political shark tank was when she stepped in, but she certainly knows now and she seems to be swimming laps very comfortably. She is now courting the media again, with the exception of “the perky one” (Katie Couric). We can’t have a repeat of those encounters. Katie might ask more substantive questions. It is important to remember that Sarah Palin is the one who says she went rogue and was trashed for it, but that’s not really the case.

She was scrutinized by the media for her lack of knowledge that a Vice Presidential candidate should have and the McCain camp has been defending itself from her allegations. I can actually thank Sarah Palin for confirming my long term suspicion and distrust of our political system. Our leaders are very quick to accuse other nations of corruption and pay for play policies when we have the same thing going on right here. She confirmed that politics is staged just like a home on the market for sale. Politics is filled with people who have auditioned for and been chosen to play characters who have been programmed like robots. Nothing is truly what is seems.

-Daphane is a blogger for The New View. Check out her bio to see where her view comes from.