She's not very tolerant of divergent opinions or open to outside ideasor compromise. As Mayor, she fought ideas that weren't generated by her or her staff. Ideas weren't evaluated on their merits, but on the basis of who proposed them. While Sarah was Mayor of Wasilla she tried to fire our highly respected City Librarian because the Librarian refused to consider removing from the library some books that Sarah wanted removed. City residents rallied to the defense of the City Librarian and against Palin's attempt at out-and-out censorship, so Palin backed down and withdrew her termination letter. People who fought her attempt to oust the Librarian are on her enemies list to this day.
With all of the hullaballoo over Sarah Palin, and the highly partisan assessments of her qualifications (which I've been party to myself), it was refreshing to discover a surprisingly honest assessment of Palin from a fellow resident of Wasilla, AK. Anne Kilkenny didn't start out with an axe to grind; she simply sent out an email that reflected her opinion of Palin. When someone with no political ambitions can refer to Palin's "unbridled ambition and predatory ruthlessness", you have to know that Palin is not a woman who inspires ambivalence. Indeed, it seems that her primary devotion is to her career...and if she had to leave a trail of bodies in her wake to advance her prospects, then that's exactly what she did- no regrets, no second thoughts, no uncertainty. Kill or be killed. NIccolo Machiavelli would be proud.
There was a time when I might (and I emphasize "might") have been willing to give Gov. Palin the benefit of the doubt. The more I learn about her, though, the more detestable she's becoming in my estimation. My antipathy has nothing to do with her gender; it has everything to do with her complete lack of qualification to be a heartbeat away from the Presidency. It has everything to do that her open and aggressive Fundamentalist Christianity is something that she could and very like would work hard to shove down the throats of all Americans...particularly if she were to (God forbid) become President.
Sarah Palin is a politician far more devoted her her career prospects and her own self-aggrandizement than to her state or even her co. All Anne Kilkenny has done is to focus a light on the reality that Sarah Palin can neither dispute nor credibly deny. In reading what Kilkenny has to say, I don't sense any rancor or desire to do damage to Palin. Sometimes, the truth will do that all by itself...and in this case, it certainly has.
I've always operated in the belief that "Bad things happen when good people stay silent". Few people know as much as I do because few have gone to as many City Council meetings.... I am just a housewife. I don't have a job she can bump me out of. I don't belong to any organization that she can hurt. But, I am no fool; she is immensely popular here, and it is likely that this will cost me somehow in the future: that's life.... [S]he has hated me since back in 1996, when I was one of the 100 or so people who rallied to support the City Librarian against Sarah's attempt at censorship.
I heard an interview with Kilkenny on NPR a few days ago, and she certainly didn't sound as if she's someone out to torpedo Gov. Palin's political aspirations. As someone who's seen Palin in action over the course of many years, though, Kilkenny is probably better equipped to provide an assessment of Palin's professional acumen (or lack of same) than just about anyone.
Klkenny isn't a politician. She's a housewife on a dial-up connection who simply wanted to relate what she has seen in Sarah Palin over the years...and what she has to say doesn't paint Gov. Palin in a flattering light. My suggestion would be simply to read Kilkenny's email for yourself. I think you'll see that Sarah Palin is neither qualified nor possessed of the temperament to be a heartbeat away from the Presidency, much to sit behind the big desk in the Oval Office.
If nothing else, her selection as the Republican Vice Presidential candidate should tell Americans everything they need to know about John McCain's judgement...or in this case, lack thereof.