Sarah Palin's Light Touch

Sarah Palin wowed at CPAC again this year. In part she did it through her patented light touch using humor to say volumes. In part she did it through striking, pithy comparisons.

The humorous gesture that is getting the headlines is her taking a sip of a Big Gulp in the middle of one of the applause breaks that peppered her speech. Gov. Palin made the clear link to Mayor Bloomberg's attempt to ban big drinks by merely mentioning his name. She didn't have to say anything about government overreach, she just sipped, and the audience went wild. There was also the echo of poking fun at the ridiculous media meltdown over Marco Rubio's sip of water during his State of the Union response this year.

Like Ronald Reagan, she's the master of the light, humorous touch. In humorous asides she brings major issues into play without droning on and on about them. Remember Reagan's: "Recession is when your neighbor loses his job. Depression is when you lose yours. And recovery is when Jimmy Carter loses his." Or "Government is like a baby. An alimentary canal with a big appetite at one end and no sense of responsibility at the other."

Along with the humor, Palin's ability to sum up a major problem in a sentence or two is noteworthy. Some memorable lines were about the GOP's current problem with focusing on:

• . . . the process of politics rather than the purpose of politics which is to lead and to serve.

• They talk about rebuilding the party. How about rebuilding the middle class?


• They talk about rebranding the GOP instead of restoring the trust of the American people.


• We're not here to rebrand a party. We're here to rebuild a country.

• We're not here to abandon our principles in a contest of government giveaways. That's a game we will never, ever win. We're here to restore America . . . .

She knows conservatives will never win media approval. But, there is a good chance to win back the swath of Americans who were or could be "Reagan Democrats". Democrats who are disgusted with where the country is going--deeper and deeper in debt with a bigger and bigger government and a less and less viable defense force.

The coming train wreck of Obamacare fees, fines, taxes and higher premiums (not to mention a glutted health care system), should be an effective wake up call to both voters and previous non-voters that something needs to change. Palin is just the person to sound the call and draw their attention to what needs to be done to fix the problems.