by Gary P. Jackson
As expected, Sarah Palin made a worldwide splash with her speech at the 16th Annual CLSA Investor’s Forum. According to CLSA’s website
it was standing room only with over 1100 institutional fund managers
and heads of leading Asian, Australian and US corporations.
Reports
are Sarah received a lengthy standing ovation at the end of her speech.
It’s also reported that a couple of whiny liberals left before she was
finished., I guess they couldn’t handle the truth! They also wouldn’t
go on the record. No guts, no glory!
In
his introduction, CLSA Chairman and CEO, Jonathan Slone, quoted
President Eisenhower on the responsibilities of citizens in a
democratic society to debate issues that matter.
Following her remarks, Governor Palin responded to questions from CLSA’s clients.
You
know how one knows this thing was a home run? The New York Times ran a
fair story about Sarah’s speech without an ounce of snark! I imagine
Maureen Dowd had a stroke!
From the New York Times:
HONG
KONG — Sarah Palin, in what was billed as her first speech overseas,
spoke on Wednesday to Asian bankers,investors and fund managers.
A
number of people who heard the speech in a packed hotel ballroom, which
was closed to the media, said Mrs. Palin spoke from notes for 90
minutes and that she was articulate, well-prepared and even compelling.
"The
speech was wide-ranging, very balanced, and she beat all expectations,"
said Doug A. Coulter, head of private equity in the Asia-Pacific region
for LGT Capital Partners.
"She didn’t sound at all like a
far-right-wing conservative. She seemed to be positioning herself as a
libertarian or a small-c conservative," he said, adding that she
mentioned both Ronald Reagan and Margaret Thatcher. "She brought up
both those names."
Of
course, the comparison’s of Sarah Palin to Ronald Reagan and Margaret
Thatcher are inevitable We’ve done it ourselves. No less than Michael
Reagan, son of the great Renaldus Magnus, has compared the two
favorably as well, as he did in his piece: "Welcome Back Dad."
Last December, writing in the Wall Street Journal, John O’Sullivan wrote a piece called "Conservative Snobs Are Wrong About Palin."
In his article, he compares Sarah favorable to Lady Thatcher, and cites
Sarah’s executive experience as a major reason for why she will be
successful on the larger stage. It should be noted that O’Sullivan was
a special adviser to Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher.
Now
let’s be honest. Sarah Palin is not Ronald Reagan, or Maggie Thatcher.
Sarah is her own person, with her own ideas, and her own brand of
conservatism. But Reagan was a huge influence on her, and as Reagan and
Thatcher really dominated the world stage in their day, I’m sure some
of that interaction made an impression on a young Sarah Palin.
"Common sense conservatism" was a common theme from those that heard her speech.
Here’s
the reason why everyone and their uncle compares Sarah Palin favorably
to Ronald Reagan. Like Reagan, Sarah Palin is strong, and unwavering in
her beliefs. She will tell you what she thinks, straight up, just like
Reagan. And like Reagan, Sarah says what she means, and means what she
says.
Sarah also
articulates conservatism, real conservatism better than anyone out
there today. This too is something she shares with Reagan, along with
an unabashed love for America, and an unbridled optimism. Reagan’s
optimism was key to his success. Reagan, like Sarah, was a realist, he
knew we had issues, but at the end of the day, He knew America had it
in her to shine. You hear that same spirit in Sarah Palin every time
she speaks.
So fairly, or unfairly, this is why the two are always compared, and compared favorable. As a recent Rasmussen poll
pointed out, "being like Ronald Reagan" is the only positive political
description that voters care about. It’s the gold standard that all
conservatives are judged by.
More from the Times:
Cameron
Sinclair, another speaker at the event, said Mrs. Palin emphasized the
need for a grassroots rebirth of the Republican Party driven by party
leaders outside Washington.
A number of attendees thought Mrs.
Palin, the former vice presidential candidate, was using the speech to
begin to broaden her foreign policy credentials before making a run for
the presidency in 2012.
"She’s definitely a serious future
presidential candidate, and I understand why she plays so well in
middle America," said Mr. Coulter, a Canadian.
And this from a New Yorker and an Obama supporter who attended:
Melvin
Goodé, a regional marketing consultant, thought Mrs. Palin chose Hong
Kong because, he said, it was "a place where things happen and where
freedom can be expanded upon."
"It’s not Beijing or Shanghai,"
said Mr. Goodé . "She also mentioned Tibet, Burma and North Korea in
the same breath as places where China should be more sensitive and
careful about how people are treated. She said it on a human-rights
level."
Mr. Goodé, an African-American who said he did some
campaign polling for President Obama, said Mrs. Palin mentioned
President Obama three times on Wednesday.
"And there was nothing
derogatory in it, no sleight of hand, and believe me, I was listening
for that," he said, adding that Mrs. Palin referred to Mr. Obama as
"our president," with the emphasis on "our."
Mr. Goodé, a New Yorker who said he would never vote for Mrs. Palin, said she acquitted herself well.
"She
was articulate and she held her own. I give her credit. They’ve tried
to categorize her as not being bright. She’s bright."
Appearing
Wednesday night "On The Record" with Greta Van Susteren, Wall Street
Journal’s Asia page editor Mary Kissel, who was in Hong Kong, told
Greta that Sarah’s appearance generated the most interest in the
forum’s 16 year history. That the media even followed her to the
airport as she was leaving the country.
Speaking of which, the Wall Street Journal, had this to say:
The former vice presidential candidate understands Beijing better than the Obama Administration does.
The Journal added:
Sarah
Palin was pounded by the media as a foreign-policy novice during last
year's presidential campaign. But when it comes to the U.S. approach
toward China, she has ideas worth listening to.
"Twenty years
ago, many believed that as China liberalized its economy, greater
political freedom would naturally follow," the former Alaska governor
and Republican nominee for the vice presidency told a Hong Kong
audience yesterday. "Unfortunately that has not come to pass."
Mrs.
Palin sees China's authoritarian nature as a security concern for the
U.S. and its allies in Asia-Pacific, and she has a point. North Korea,
Burma and other rogue regimes couldn't sustain themselves without
Chinese support. Not to mention the hundreds of missiles Beijing has
pointed at Taiwan and its navy's increasingly muscular attitude in the
South China Sea. "How many books and articles have been written about
the dangers of India's rise?" she asked.
The solution, she
argues, is to encourage political change from within China—a movement
that regained momentum last year with the launch of Charter 08, a
democratic manifesto.
Such developments, she argued, are in
everyone's interest. "The more politically open and just China is, the
more Chinese citizens of every ethnicity will settle disputes in courts
rather than on the streets," she said. The more open China is, "the
less we will be concerned about its military buildup and intentions."
Mrs.
Palin also espoused the value of alliances with like-minded democratic
countries in the region such as Japan, Australia and India. The U.S.
"can, must and should" work with China to address issues of "mutual
concern," she said. "But we also need to work with our allies in
addressing the uncertainties created by China's rise."
The Obama
Administration could take a page from this book. So far, the White
House has gone out of its way to downplay human rights in China and
tiptoe around recent crackdowns in Tibet and Xinjiang, preferring to
focus on hipper issues like climate change. This "don't ask, don't
tell" approach to Beijing does no favors to the Chinese people, much
less to the West's core interests in Asia. At the same time, America's
other alliances in the region have been largely ignored.
Mrs.
Palin also made a timely call against trade protectionism—an issue that
will be high on the U.S.-China agenda this week at the Group of 20
meeting in Pittsburgh. She spoke up for the U.S.-South Korea free trade
agreement, now stalled in the U.S. Congress. She also called the Obama
Administration's decision to slap a 35% duty on Chinese tires a
"mistake," while adding that China needed to respect intellectual
property rights and "improve its rule of law." Again, she made the
connection with human-rights: "Our economic relationship will truly
thrive when Chinese citizens and foreign corporations can hold the
Chinese government accountable."
Mrs. Palin's speech will almost
surely be dismissed by her critics as a scripted exercise. What we
heard was a balanced and realistic view of China, founded on universal
values that Westerners and Chinese alike can believe in.
Appearing on Sean Hannity’s "Great American Panel" Wednesday Night, famed Notre Dame coach Lou Holtz has this to say:
"Sarah Palin excites me. She stands for something."
Holtz
went on to expand on this, noting that Ronald Reagan’s successes came
from standing for something, and that this recent tendency to
"moderate" the message in an attempt to draw people in is a mistake.
This echoes what we have been saying for a long time. Be who you are,
true to your school. Reagan had the same conservative message for every
single American.
People want someone who stands for something,
believes in something. Those are the people we know we can trust. Those
are the people we know will never, ever waver under pressure.
Sarah
herself, recognizing folks wanted to hear a little bit of what she had
to say in her address, released excerpts of her speech on her Facebook
page, which we covered
here.
Having
read the excerpts from her speech, it’s simple to say this was some
serious red meat, a nice, thick, grilled ribeye steak with garlic
mashed potatoes and some veggies on the side, in fact! A good solid
meal that was very filling.
It’s going to be a lot of fun
watching Sarah Palin out there being Sarah Palin. For long time
Palinistas, this is the Sarah Palin we liked before it was really cool
to like Sarah Palin!
Airport photo courtesy Asia Media, Speech photos courtesy CLSA.