Sarah Palin for President in 2012

Had the Republic the Founding Father sought to create taken root, the Sarah Palin phenomenon would not have been possible. The original Constitution, as well as the existing thirteen state constitutions in 1787, did not grant women the right to vote, so it was unlikely that a woman, however competent, would be allowed to run for public office, at any level. The President, moreover, was to be elected by an electoral college selected by state legislatures, whose members, the wisest of “gray beards,” voted their minds independently, not along party lines or catering to popular sentiment. Senators likewise were to be appointed by state legislatures. Only members of the House of Representatives were to be elected by popular vote. And holders of public office by tradition were expected to possess a classical education in line with the European aristocracy of the times. So even if Sarah Palin had been a man, she wouldn’t have qualified to run for President of the United States, or for any lesser public office, national, state or even local. Her populist image and scant educational credentials wouldn’t have cut it.

But, for better or worse, the Republic envisioned by the Founding Fathers has evolved into a one-man-one-vote populist democracy. Though still in the books, the Electoral College has been rendered a meaningless ceremony trotted out every four years. The President in effect is now elected by popular vote and along party lines; senators by direct popular vote; and anyone who pay the registration can fee— actors, retired athletes, comedians, celebrities of every hue—can run for public office. Education has likewise been so democratized that today 40% of all Americans have a college degree of some sort, with hundreds of majors to choose from, though it might be argued that the quality of these many degrees may not be as high as those of the few granted in days of the Founding Fathers.

More quantity and variety but less quality in everything, that’s how American democracy seems to be trending. Whether this is a sign progress or decadence only time will tell. (Granting women the right to vote and the implicit allowance for them to hold public office is definitely progress) What is important to note here is that the social and political environment in modern-day America is ripe for Sarah Palin. The hockey mom, small business owner, former mayor of Wasilla, former governor of Alaska, multimillionaire book author, scoffer of the “hoity-toidy” educated (her own words), stout defender of God and country, masterful fund-raiser, charismatic speaker, Fox News commentator, she has all the necessary credentials and embodies all the right values to serve as President of the United States and leader of the Free World. If she chooses to run for that high office, I urge my fellow Americans to vote for her.