Politics is not for the Common Man

Can we, for a moment, forget that Sarah Palin is inexplicably perhaps the most despised political figure of today? Can we also forget that she is perhaps the most inexplicably popular poster child for a major political party?

Really, can we forget about Sarah Palin's politics for a moment? I'd like to look at her as a generic politician, neither savior nor devil. I would like to talk about her as if she was you or me.

Knowing what we know today, would any one of us take on the task of running for political office and subjecting our families to the sort of abuse that goes with it? Sure, it has been said, and it is certainly the truth, that the abuse of one's self and one's family goes with the quest for higher office. That internal desire to try and serve the public means that you will have approximately half of the population wishing you would shut up and willing to employ any strategy, regardless of how disturbing, to get you to do so?

Now, from what I have read, it does not appear that Sarah Palin is necessarily retreating from her Alaskan governorship to flee the hatred, though that is much of the speculation. Some are also saying that this flight from Juneau could mean that she is unemcumbering herself from the responsibilities of Governor so that she can begin to pursue a higher office. This was not specifically stated by Palin either.

My question is, do we want all of our politicians to be so thick skinned as a prerequisite for running for office, that as a bare minimum they have to be nearly sociopathic in nature to survive the taunting and accusations?

Mark Steyn has some thoughts.