Contextually this article says so much about who the Palins are and not as a criticism but considering the situation this family has been placed in by the McCain campaign, it is all kind of sad. It takes my criticism down a notch. She is not the devil but she, for sure, is not at all ready for the job.
McCain didn't realize the first family of Alaska probably would have preferred remaining in Alaska and just being regular folks. They don't strike me as the types of people who really were prepared or interested in the spotlight they are getting right now. They are small town Americans and if you know or have lived in a small town, you know and love people like the Palins.
The People Magazine Piece: Sarah Palin: My Wedding Hope for Bristol
The article is full of typical Sarah-isms and word salads but it is an interesting look into the lives of people who are just (for the national stage) too regular.
Reading this article reminded me of many great episodes of Beverly Hillbillies. You take your small town, minimally educated, close knit American family and throw them into money and the limelight and you get the Palins. In no way is this a criticism of that life. I'm from Kentucky and have grown up around many people just like them. They say what they mean (sans the Republican talking points Sarah has been trained to use) and they believe all of it. For instance the following:
Are you disappointed that he's dropped out of school?
SP: He's working right now full-time, but there have been a lot of very successful, hard-working American families led by men and women who have received their GED and have figured out through home-schooling and alternative schooling how to get that high school diploma and Levi will be on that road to get his education, also. But in addition to that, they're not going to be looking for anybody to hand them anything. They're going to be working for provisions for their new family and I respect that Levi is out there working hard. He's got a good job right now, working hard, ready to take care of his new child. I respect that.
(Campaign)STAFF: We've got to get going.
For them a GED is equivalent to finishing a formal education. There is no future plan, nor an indication that Bristol or Levi will get anything more than the high school education. They will work and provide for their child. It is an extremely finite way of thinking.
It bothers me greatly because both Bristol and Levi by virtue of being connected to a governor and clearly well off enough to afford an education, should by all accounts, GET higher education and be encouraged and expected to do so. It bothers me because as Vice President and potentially President, she does not value education enough. Would she treat the nation's education system so capriciously?
Needless to say, this article leaves me somewhat sympathetic for the Palins but it deepens my feelings that Sarah Palin is simply NOT READY. As my many Southern and Country relatives say when they can't say anything polite: "Bless her heart".