Sarah and the Five Stones

It’s too soon to speak of myth, for myth must come after…

From Mr. L’s Tavern I learned about the story of the five stones as it relates to Palin, and I’m not sure, but I think this tale will make a prominent appearance in her new film.

Never heard of the five stones? Well pull up a chair then.

It struck me as I listened to Mr. L’s audio blog (mrltavern.blogspot.com) of self-described common sense, conservativism, that Palin is already being elevated into a realm that is usually reserved for war heros, assassinated Presidents, and Prophets. According to Mr. L, a political analyst by the name of Richard Halpern was the person who talked Palin into running against a fellow Republican… in a primary… for Governor.

Now, in hindsight it’s easy to forget just how hard such an endeavor might be. Think for a moment about a sitting Republican Governor in your State. Let’s pick one just for fun, say, the Governor from Texas, Rick Perry. Imagine that in a hypothetical future campaign for reelection that someone from his own party decided to challenge him. Not a well-known figure mind you, but someone who as of this time has only a 10% name recognition; someone that no one even knows… even in Texas.

It gets worse. Imagine that the entire Republican Party in Texas is against such a challenge, and they are so against it that some officials actually call our unknown figure and threaten her. And add to this that the challenger has just resigned from the Texas oil and gas commission because she is claiming it is a corrupt political rubber stamp for special interests.

Right now you have to admit that our champion has as close to zero a chance of success as is possible without actually being zero, but we’re not done. She has no money, no political dynasty family name, she has a large family, and she… is a she.

Now comes Halpern, and his contribution to the revolution if it is being retold accurately does not have to be sold; this stuff sells itself. Halpern evidently saw something in Palin that no one else had yet seen, and if we can use a little artistic license here, he probably spent some time figuring out how to persuade Palin to challenge the Alaskan Goliath: Republican Governor, Frank Murkowski.

Knowing that Palin was religious, even to the point of piety, Halpern cleverly used a biblical tale to convince Palin that she had all the traits needed to defeat a powerful opponent.

Even people who only attend church at Easter know the story of David and Goliath, but how many know the story of the five stones? I knew David had five stones, but I wasn’t aware of them being symbolic of anything, and a google search reveals little other than the standard biblical message.

But David did take five stones to slay Goliath, and if he trusted that God was with him, shouldn’t he have taken one?

Well, he did have God with him, and he did take five stones, so it’s easy to assume that there must be a deeper meaning. Are the stones symbolic of five traits that are needed to win against odds that seem insurmountable?

I don’t know, but I think we are entering into an area that can only be described as myth-building at this point, especially if the story that Halpern used to explain the five stones was a fictional device. According to Mr. L, Halpern ascribed to the five stones these five corresponding traits-

1. Belief in God.

2. Certainty of opposition. (Palin is ground zero for a reason.)

3. Courage. (This stone is a given.)

4. Meaningful preparation.

5. Unconventional weapons. (Maverick, anyone?)

Can Palin beat Obama? Compared to what she has accomplished already it will be the easiest campaign she has ever had. It serves every pundit well to remember that the last time that Sarah Palin stepped forward to slay a Goliath she first resigned from a corrupt political entity, and this is exactly what her enemies brought to the office of governor in Alaska after the 2008 campaign.

After leaving the oil and gas committee she emerged triumphant and slayed Murkowski, don’t doubt for one second that she can’t resign as Governor and parlay that into a winning campaign in 2012.

Post script: My original notion today was to write an article about T.E Lawrence (famously known as Lawrence of Arabia), because I was deep into researching this enigmatic British hero. I left Lawrence when I heard Mr. L, but now I want to use a tidbit at the end with a quote from the movie based on his autobiography, The Seven Pillars of Wisdom. It seems perfectly apropos-

Prince Faisal, talking to an intrepid American war correspondent: “You are looking for a figure who will draw your country towards war?”

War correspondent begrudgingly admits: ”All right, yes.”

Faisal: ”Lawrence is your man.”

Palin can do the same. She can provide the thing that is never discussed by the elitist naysayers: the energy that will be needed to win the coming epic political battle. The mythmaking can wait, but the evidence can no longer be ignored; Palin can win against impossible odds, so why wouldn’t we think she can beat a failed President?