The Notorious SARAH PALIN

A Legend without a Legacy

“That was kinda cool.”—Sarah Palin

 

Fans of Sarah Palin shout in the middle of her impromptu public addresses, as one man did. “You rock me out, Sarah!” The man in a hunter's jacket and a National Rifle Association cap held a sign: “Dudes for Sarah”

This "dude" it's safe to imagine is the profile of Ms Palin's fan base—heavily white male with an overextended libido.

Whenever she makes appearances, such men in the crowd respond like wolves howling at the moon. Boisterous among a gathering that number in the thousands, enthusiastic burly construction workers in steel-toed boots making up the lion share of Sarah's dude population. “You guys are great,” she joyfully rejoins their serenade.

These "dudes" also think Sarah Palin is great, some coming to her rallies early, willing to stand in line, waiting for hours to see her. This recalls a time ...more than fifty years ago when...

 

 Nice but naughty, shy yet daring, simple though exotic and unlike anyone ever seen through the lens of a camera, Bettie Page attracted attention from published photographs of her posing in tight bikinis and see-through lingerie pinned to the walls of barracks and garages during the 1950s. It has been conservatively estimated that over 20,000 photographs of Bettie Page have been taken. Freshly scrubbed and wholesome, she generated the most seductive photographs to grace the cover of any magazine. Sparking the imagination, Bettie's “girl next door” looks and innocent smile only complemented her explosive sexuality, while her enduring star power employs restrained elegance.

Following her national debut a year ago in September 2008, men widely admired Sarah Palin and sought out her stump-speech appearances, this in stark contrast to that of women who desired to be in her company. Favored more by men over women (44% to 36%) Ms Palin endured a tough political battle, intellectually attacked an incurious for a vice presidential running mate last year by Democrats then by GOP conservatives for being essentially a non-critical thinker. “She doesn’t think aloud. She just ...says things,” reported Peggy Noonan of the Wall Street Journal. “She does not speak seriously but attempts to excite sensation.” And, boy, does she ever, coming onto the scene as if she were ...well, Bettie Page.

Born on April 22, 1923, in Nashville, TN, to Roy Page, an auto mechanic and her mother Edna, part Cherokee. The 5-foot-51/2-inch Bettie Mae Page came quickly to prominence during the 1950s. Called the “Dark Angle” with her smooth tanned, trademark bangs and raven hair darker than midnight, and a saucy come-hither smile bright as day with deep blue-gray eyes, she garnered world-wide attention with photographs of her seductive figure (36-23-35) pinned to walls across the country and around the world. The Playboy centerfold in the magazine’s January 1955 issue together with winning the title of “Miss Pin-up Girl of the World” that same year dubbed Bettie the “Girl with the Perfect Figure.”

 

Followed by controversial sadomasochistic poses and appearances in adult-only magazines, Bettie attained renown as the "Queen of Bondage." Photo sessions sold on a lucrative subscription basis, customers making specific requests for scenes or layouts, which Bettie found quite amusing.

Never appearing in anything more than 16mm non-pornographic adult films, Bettie achieved phenomenal popularity surpassed only by Marilyn Monroe.

And like Marilyn, she moved to New York to continue (unsuccessfully) her pursuit of a career in acting. Here, she did a great deal of modeling for “camera clubs” to earn money over her secretarial pay.

 Having her hopes of a movie career dashed, an ambitious woman to be certain, Bettie Page went from the cover of “men’s magazines” to heady burlesque films, oddly disconcerting for its day.

She performed in STRIP-O-RAMA(1953),  starring famed Vegas showgirl Lili St. Cyr; VARIETEASE (1954); and TEASERAMA (1955) with much of her work seen in a series of infamous stag films papering the cracks in her failed attempts to enter mainstream motion pictures.

Still, Bettie’s grip on the public’s imagination strengthened with her impressively employed sensuous figure, far more sensuous than any “pinup” model in her day with that unique and elusive combination of wholesome innocence and sexual fetish that transformed her image into something hard to define yet quite extraordinary even today.

 

“You tell ’em baby!”—some dude

Sarah Palin's staunchest supporters, protectors and advocates—that Joe (the plumber) Sixpack crowd—defend her against critics who ridicule her in the media. Above all else, Ms. Palin is defended for being "real" ...and a hot chick. Always, the testosterone flows at every venue where she's greeted by heady rock music then (during the presidential campaign) going on to raise millions of dollars.

But always, always lots and lots of guys (2 to 1) and quite noticeable to the women.

Thinking aloud with "guy stuff" Ms Palin peppers the wind with male themes (hunting, fishing, hockey ...husband). “He is a guy who knows how to work with his hands.”

“Marry me, Sarah.” The male voice from one of the many crowds urgently beseeched, coming from among the loud applause of high-schoolers, bikers and scruffy veterans in berets. The dudes tend to make themselves noticed. Ms Palin prudently ignored the entreaty in autographing photos and baseball caps.

 

Reflectively hailed by social scientists as leading the sexual revolution that would mature during the 1960s, Bettie fell into obscurity. After her mysterious disappearance (whether spent battling mental illness or not) she reemerged from religious respite as a “born again” Christian; later living in Los Angeles with her brother in the 1980s as her body of work generated an almost “fetish” appreciation among a new generation of idolaters. Her global celebrity and the devotion of newfound fans have made her more popular now than 50 years ago, yet only on occasion during the 1990s did Bettie allow herself to be interviewed, while declining to have her picture taken.

"I was never the girl next door,” she would avow later in life. "I was never one who was squeamish about nudity. I don't believe in being promiscuous about it, but several times I thought of going to a nudist colony. I love to swim in the nude and roam around the house in the nude. You're just as free as a bird!

"I don't know what they mean by an icon. I never thought of myself as being that. It seems strange to me. I was just modeling, thinking of as many different poses as possible. I made more money modeling than being a secretary. I had a lot of free time. You could go back to work after an absence of a few months. I couldn't do that as a secretary."

Bettie Page passed away December 11, 2008 from complications following a stroke.

 

"I feel like you guys are always trying to put me on the spot."—Sarah Palin

Sarah Palin had on a prior occasion taken a seat with a group of bipartisan state senators with Gary Stevens, a congenial Republican and president of the Alaska Senate conveying great joy over her attendance; and then asked if (then governor) Palin wish to share her ideas for the upcoming legislative session. The room filled with silence. She looked passively around her then broke the silence with: "I feel like you guys are always trying to put me on the spot."

 

Later, having summarily resigned from the governorship, her first public address given outside of North America (it's worth noting that during Sarah Palin's vice-presidential bid while still governor of Alaska, she thought Africa was a country and not a continent) Sarah Palin was game to speak on the economic global crisis.

Ms Palin attributed the world financial trauma to the failing of governments rather than corporate behavior, telling investors in Hong Kong: "...we got into this mess because of government interference in the first place." She petitioned tax cuts for American companies and renewed deregulation for the American economy so that it might

"roar back to life."

Described as the crack cocaine of political celebrity, Sarah Palin is like a pinup girl of the 1950s era: You want to ignore her but just can't, as Ms Palin (like Bettie Page before her) serves up the latest embarrassment.

Maybe some day when she's older (hopefully wiser) Ms Palin will pause to reflect upon this time in her life with some humility. And like her pinup predecessor think of herself as less icon and more ironic.

Meanwhile, we along with "the boys" in the media will (out of Schadenfreude) pay much attention as the boys pay tribute to a woman who will undoubtedly go down in history as that odd political species—a legend without a legacy to stand on.

 

 

 

"GOING ROGUE: An American Life" is the memoir by the former Alaskan governor and Republican vice presidential candidate with her taskmaster collaborator, an evangelical named Lynn Vincent. Reportedly, a fee of $100,000-per-speech is being requested by an agency on Sarah Palin's behalf.

 

Frederick Louis Richardson

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