I felt the way I do much of the time I watch real people do real things, scripted or otherwise. My hand instinctively inched towards the channel changer, not wanting to watch another human being crash and burn to the delight of her fellow man. The other part of me leaning forward, interested in the laboratory specimen on the screen, Sarah Palin trying to find her game. I wanted to her to lose and I wanted her to win. Her unabashed courage winning me over.
She wasn't so bad, Sarah Palin. Of course she has a stiffness stemming from the big switch from politician to television riffer. It was somewhat odd to see someone who just a year before had perfected the political handwave, towering over John McCain. But she was funny, she was eager, she was confident and I had the eerie feeling that she was just being herself
The discomfort we all felt is undeniable. Watching someone "try" something out in front of millions of viewers, cringing in the knowledge that many would delight in her failure. I thought about it later (the unavoidable malady of Nead Inspiration) and realized part of the reason for the uneasiness. Sarah Palin is searching for her game. You know, the game. The special game you can play better than anyone else, that you were born with.
She came on the scene as a bit of a puppet of the Republican party. Sit up, roll over, bark, be quiet. We watched as she chafed against the role. We saw how uncomfortable she was being presidential the "Republican way." Her true colors came out at the core of her game, the love for her family. In a split second of protectiveness, we saw the soccer-mom/ bulldog blend come out as she defended the actions of her daughter, her marriage, her Alaskan way of life.
Then she named it, the bulldog with lipstick, the soccer mom with a club. She resigned the governors seat. She wrote a book. She did not ask permission to go on a worldwide tour. The pundits became frustrated as she slipped in and out of her assigned boxes. They wanted her to fit in. She couldn't; her game was becoming more obvious by the second. When Palin signed up to be a Fox news correspondent, she was not what we expected. She did not sound brilliant, pontificating, presidential. She just looked...like her.
I believe that Sarah Palin will end up on her feet. Why? Because people will line up to buy a book from a person who is real. They will root on the brave. They will tune into the authentic.
Take a lesson from Ms. Palin. Be yourself. Do what you were meant to do. We may not understand, but eventually, once we figure it out. We will be your biggest fan. Because you are playing your game, that game that you were born with. Good luck!
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