Palin's audacity of the unconventional plays well on Main Street

The "experts" in Washington and the so-called mainstream media have already written Sarah Palin's obituary, citing her supposedly fatal political act of resigning as Alaska's governor. But the real mainstream, Main Street USA, gets why she did what she did for the very reasons she cited, putting family first and the best interests of her state's residents both ahead of her "political viability." Family, friends and neighbors ahead of political viability? What a weird concept, according to the experts. But a poll of Main Street shows Americans "get" that concept just fine.

Star Parker at Townhall.com looks at the poll numbers and reads the tea leaves on Main Street.

I don't know if Sarah Palin intends to run for president in 2012.

Certainly, resigning her job as Alaska's governor is a politically unconventional way of doing it.

But whereas pundits have now almost uniformly written her off, 70% in a new USA Today/Gallup poll say Palin's resignation has "no effect" on their opinion of her. Of the remainder, 9 percent say they now see her "more favorably" and 17 percent "less favorably."

Moreover, in the same poll, 43 percent (and 72 percent of Republicans) say they would at least "somewhat likely" vote for her if she runs in 2012.

It has got to gall the many political geniuses -- the journalists, consultants, bloggers, academics -- that so many at America's grassroots refuse to see what is so obvious to them.

...These are not usual times. Many, legitimately so, are deeply concerned for the future of this country. It's more than the latest economic statistics. It's knowing that what will drive the future is freedom and values, and both are disappearing.

Genuineness and conviction are more critical in these challenging times than resumes and appearances.

So stepping down from a job in which you are no longer realizing your ideals to reconnect with family and self is not necessarily political suicide. But doing what everyone says you are supposed to do, compromising your values, and letting pundits and experts run your life is.

So far, Sarah Palin's audacity of the unconventional is playing just fine.

Beauty, brains and her feet solidly planted on Main Street, that's what Americans like about Sarah Palin. And all the pundits and so-called politcal experts will never "get" that.