Sarah Palin's leadership style

By GottaLaff

The media should be demanding immediate answers from Sarah Palin, instead of acquiescing to the Republican timetable and demands of "deference". If she isn't ready to answer questions from the press, how will she suddenly snap into readiness to take over as president within the next 4 months? How unprepared does a candidate have to be before the public realizes that? And further, why would voters even consider a Cheney II or Bush III?

Fine. If she won't answer questions, then we will. And speaking of transparency:

[S]he has fallen short of her proclaimed goals in other areas, especially concerning how she governs.

Her administration has not been marked by the transparency she promised: She invoked executive privilege in refusing to disclose information about one ethics case, and last week she moved to hobble a legislative inquiry into her role in the firing of a state public safety official.

"Invoked executive privilege". Bush III, Cheney II. Next:

Several legislators also say the governor's office is not a place for open debate: Palin does not tolerate much dissent, they say, sometimes cutting off relations with those deemed unhelpful or critical.

Cheney II. Bush III. Next:

And she shows only marginal interest in crafting policy proposals and getting them passed, these critics say.

Bush III. Next:

"Her ethics proposal had to be beefed up substantially with very basic additions," said state Rep. Les Gara, an Anchorage Democrat who tried to get the governor's attention on ethics and other issues. [...]

"When it comes to the real work of crafting policy, she's often not there," Gara said. He acknowledged her broad accomplishments, but added: "I don't know if she's disinterested in details or not comfortable with them, but the bottom line is: She is not truly a hands-on governor."

Bush III. Next:

Republican state Sen. Fred Dyson, a friend and fellow reformer who praises Palin for taking up the issue, acknowledged that she was not fully engaged in the details of the ethics bill and that some legislators had been rankled by her lack of engagement in other issues as well.

Bush III. Next:

Other legislators say that the governor has been so focused on her own priorities that she has been unwilling to consider other significant matters -- including the state's poor ranking in providing health insurance to children. Alaska ranks near the bottom of the states in making children from lower-middle-income families eligible for a government insurance program.

She used the line-item veto this year to cut funding for $268 million in capital projects from spending bills, including money for a senior citizens center and batting cages for the Ketchikan Little League. At the same time, the Anchorage Daily News reported, she preserved $2 million for an academic conference highlighting arguments that global warming isn't threatening the survival of polar bears.

Bush III, Cheney II. Next:

A former associate director of the governor's Washington office, Larry Persily, said that some of the governor's problems resulted from the fact that she "underestimated exponentially how much more complex state government is than the city of Wasilla."

Palin is smart but was "never deeply engaged," he said.

Bush III. Next:

Though she had good instincts with the public, her approach to legislators and fellow elected officials was often counterproductive, he said. For example, he said, when she made a four-day visit to Washington in February, she did not meet with any members of the congressional delegation.

Similarly, when she reversed her campaign decision and finally killed the "bridge to nowhere," the much-ridiculed project to connect Ketchikan with the island airport that serves it, neither the mayor of the town nor the congressional delegation was notified in advance.

Are we seeing a pattern here? Next:

Republican Lyda Green, president of the Alaska Senate, who has clashed frequently with the governor, said: "It has been very difficult for her to accept 'no,' and after a 'no' was spoken, going forward after that amicably was very difficult. After that, you didn't get in. No conversations. She would very much slam you in her next press conference."

Say it with me...

State Rep. Andrea Doll of Juneau, a Democrat, says she thinks the governor is learning from her mistakes. "One thing she learned is that you are not a lone ranger -- you can't go marching off, ignoring the people at the legislative front lines," she said. "To get something done, you need more than just the public applauding wildly."

Bush/Cheney with eyeglasses. And for the record, I do not think she is stupid. I do think her positions and methods are dangerous and undemocratic. I do think her positions and methods need full exposure. And more than anything, I do think that a thorough, professional interview with her would be a start.

But I have a sinking feeling that isn't going to happen.