By James Holland

Sarah Palin is the stereotypical Middle American. That fact is absolutely proved by her new autobiographical book, Going Rogue.  This upbringing is perfectly demonstrated by one of the pictures included in the first of two photo albums snapshot sections of her book. The picture is of “a group of lifelong girlfriends, the ‘Elite 6’—as we jokingly refer to ourselves, because we’re anything but’ elite.’” The picture includes five of her friends, one of which is a “special needs assistant."  Next is an "EMT/ambulance driver” and another friend who is a "personal trainer.” The other two friends are an “investigator” and (the fifth girl pal) a “food bank volunteer and election poll coordinator.” Sarah writes that they’ve “been through tragedies and triumphs, births and deaths—together. They’re trustworthy, faithful, down-to-earth ‘true’ friends, and they help keep me grounded despite the politics that constantly swirl.”

Checking out this picture helps explains why Sarah is such a magnet for middle-class American voters. She and her friends are all normal, everyday, hard working Americans. They are all people on the front line of community action and they are all local heroes.

The picture just below the one of the “Elite” is of Sarah kayaking on Memory Lake trying to help “kick up the contractions. Baby Willow was overdue, and I thought it would be great for her to be born on the Fourth of July, but alas, I must not have paddled hard enough because she wasn’t born until the next day.”

This autobiographical life story isn’t about a woman who is pre-occupied with self-introspection. Sarah Palin grew up on what is one of America’s last frontiers. The book is full of stories of learning to hunt, fish, take care of the people around her, and learning to enjoy, but at the same time preserve the great outdoors. Palin is a natural born environmentalist. Another picture, sorry to dwell so much on pictures but they each do equal a thousand words, shows Molly, one of Palin’s sisters opening the door to the Heath’s home. A Moose is standing there, who appears to want to come into the house.

Most readers would assume that environmental groups would flock to Palin and make her a poster woman for their activities.

Alas, the elites consider Palin and her way of life an alien life form left over from the Ice Age. She is too normal, too typical, too middle class, too honest, and too religious, not educated in Ivy League schools, a hunter and gun lover, a commercial fisherwoman and union member. From the standpoint of many liberal leaders, Palin is their worst nightmare come true. She doesn’t just accept the ways things are, she wants to change them and get rid of the inefficient and overpriced. She took on her own Republican Party’s “Old Boy Network” in Alaska and purged the wasteful corruption. She is an ordinary woman with strong core beliefs (as amply described in this very personal life story), who knows more about energy than almost anyone currently in the U.S. Government. What’s more she also understands how to produce more of it—something that is desperately needed if this nation is to survive and prosper. She is a living, breathing version of American frontier spirit. If a person had the choice of being under enemy fire while pinned downed in a wartime foxhole, I’d feel much, much safer with her and her rifle in the foxhole than with the current Oval Office resident.

The ex-Governor of Alaska believes in freedom, her country and what it stands for and she knows that the current over-hyped and unproductive “change” has never worked anywhere or at any time in the history of the world.

This book is a very personal story of a woman whose name may someday become an action verb. She is a doer, not a talker. She is a multi-tasker who manages to be a wonderful mother as well as a powerhouse of political activity and citizenship. She is a one-woman community action organization. This book only includes a dozen or two pages (our of 416 pages) about Palin’s recent run for Vice-President. She doesn’t provide any boring lists of her policies, but her beliefs and instincts are obvious from the story of her life. Like all of us, she is a product of her environment and upbringing.

This is an excellent book about a typical, self-reliant, highly independent American rising up in a “Joan of Arc” fashion to help save her beloved country from the hopeless, misguided and ridiculous policies currently being jammed down American citizens' throats while the politicians steal the taxpayers', and their children and grandchildren’s wallets and credit cards as they struggle against the poison being fed to them by the government and much of the liberal media. Palin is a natural born optimist who jogs and runs marathons to help clear her mind and allow her to think through problems. This is a fascinating read. 5 Stars

Going Rogue (HarperCollins/2009) by Sarah Palin

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