We Canadians

In India, many dogs don’t eat meat. They either grow up in vegetarian households or they hang around temples where only vegetarian food  is available.

 However, it is said that of you take one of these dogs and give it meat for a week, it can never go back to  a vegeterian diet. Metaphorically speaking, this is what has happened to Sarah Palin.

She got her taste of meat (metaphorically speaking) when she was selected as the Republican candidate for Vice-President. Everything changed for her after that, as she herself admits. She just cannot go back to her “vegetarian” existence anymore as the governor of a remote US state.

The only real reason why she is resigning from her position is, I believe, to take a run for the presidency; nothing less would satisfy her, now that she has tasted “meat”. She knows it is a long shot but it is a risk worth taking. And strange things do happen in politics. Just a few years back, it was a very long shot for Barack Obama to get anywhere near the presidency but he did it anyway.

Pailin has convinced herself that she is presidential material even though most of the media doesnt think so. She has also convinced herself that the media was biased against her and that she can do  better next time.

There are, indeed, quite a few things in her favour. The Republicans are leaderless right now and Pailin has a high popularity rating within this group. She has a reasonable  chance of winning the presidential nomination for the Republican party. Then she will be up against Obama in his bid for a second term.

Right now, Obama seems to be a formidable opponent. His popularity rating is very high and with his indisputed charisma, many people think he can do wrong. I am personally a great supporter of Obama because deep down, he is a good man. He wants world peace and a peaceful resolution of disputes through dialogue.

This, however, doesn’t mean he will always be popular. He takes risks and if one or two of his policies fail, he could lose popularity very fast. He has to succeed in Afghanistan and he has to restore the economy without over-spending public money. At the same time, he has to protect his country.

If his popularity declines, the Republicans under Pailin’s leadership will be ready to pounce. It is still a very long shot but this could well lead to Pailin being the next president of the U.S.A.

Personally, I dont like this possibility at all but stranger things have happened in politics.