Why 'Palin Derangement Syndrome' Won't Fade Away

C. Edmund Wright, at American Thinker, has an interesting article today about the mental illness which has afflicted liberals and establishment Republicans: Palin Derangement Syndrome, or PDS as it's referred to in the relevant academic literature. PDS, of course, is a relatively new psychosis having first been observed approximately 15 months ago.

Those most susceptible to this virulent strain of mental illness are self-anointed elite liberals who, curiously, have a notable dearth of accomplishments in life. Examples include Keith Olbermann, Chris Matthews, and the ratings challenged Katie Couric, to name a few. But, as we've noted here before, PDS is by no means limited to self-described liberals. Liberals who call themselves conservatives, such as David Brooks and David Frum, also suffer from advanced cases. Even a few legitimate, though elitist, conservatives have occasional PDS seizures.

Wright, in his article, notes that while Governor Palin holds no formal power at the moment, PDS is still an epidemic among the elite establishment. Indeed, it is in danger of being upgraded from epidemic to pandemic status:

The Alaska Governor is far more than someone who appeals to the (conservative) base, she is someone who can make the base appeal to America.

This compact yet comprehensive diagnosis was made in the early hours of the Palin Derangement Syndrome (PDS) outbreak, when Sarah Palin was first being introduced to the nation.

[...]

Having said that, PDS has now matured past epidemic to full-blown pandemic status with a derangement component that is now insanely intense. Remember, Palin does not have one whit of legal authority over these people or anyone else. Yet as her elected status has ended, her effect on the elites has only increased.

Wright next attempts to diagnose the reason why, despite Governor Palin's current status as a private citizen, the elite's PDS symptoms continue to progress, perhaps terminally:

As many have correctly pointed out, the pundits' vitriol and patronizing comments smack of a hatred and anger that only thinly veils the real emotion underlying their irrational behavior: Fear. Part of it is fear that she will indeed hold public office again. But it goes even deeper than that.

Wright's diagnosis is inarguable here. Nothing but fear, nay, abject terror, can explain the truly demented behavior and cartoonish tactics elites resort to in their vain attempt to discredit Governor Palin. Wright goes on to explain why this is the case:

It is an increasing awareness that Palin's impact is much more than a strong advocacy of conservatism as a sound political philosophy. These people are now finding it hard to escape the reality that her life is a compelling and real advocacy of conservatism as a powerful life philosophy. Life trumps politics.

And once the casual voter has related to Palin's life philosophy as something that is true, practical and worth adopting, they are dead to liberalism forever.

[...]

If your life revolves around convincing Republicans to nominate folks like McCain or around electing people like Obama, this is a scary prospect indeed. Like the signature scene from "Alien," this realization is causing the emergence from deep within the elites of something even uglier and more powerful than we imagined.

Wright next compares Governor Palin to another successful leader who evoked the same reaction from pretty much the same people:

While people who live a conservative base type life have always outnumbered the elites, the last public figure who evidenced it simply by existing was Ronald Reagan. And yes, many of the attacks on Palin today are the same attacks Reagan endured decades ago and they are coming from the same quarters.

Palin and Reagan are similar in that they both can use a few simple words and communicate more truth to average Americans than the media elites can with rambling professorial or lawyer speak. When she told Charlie Gibson that "you can actually see Russia from land here in Alaska," she refers to a profound sense of reality one automatically gets when you see your mortal enemy every single day. Now I understood it the day she said it. Send a memo to David Brooks please.

Like Reagan, Governor Palin speaks the same language the vast majority of Americans speak. She is unpretentious, honest, and speaks her mind without first having all her movements and words pre-tested in focus groups or diagrammed in a Power Point presentation. Normal people who make this country work respond and, indeed, are grateful for this. Reagan before and Governor Palin now, understand this instinctively. Where elites see shades of gray, Governor Palin effortlessly distinguishes between right and wrong.

This kind of clarity is an abomination to elites. They see it as a threat to their belief that only they, with their privileged, pampered backgrounds, are nuanced and worldly enough to lead (never mind that these same elites have spent the last 20 years destroying the traditions and institutions that have made America great). They know that Governor Palin will never care what they think. For this reason she has power over them and this they cannot abide. Unlike other Republicans since Reagan, the D.C. establishment will never be able to change or control her, as Wright explains:

So while the elites eventually beat back Gingrich and the Bushes, they seem to know they will never do that to Palin. They never could do it to Reagan either. Like Reagan, Palin seems to arrive at her beliefs with too much foundation to ever rattle. That gives power to her spoken and written words that other Americans can sense.

Yes, there are more of us than there are of them. Sarah Palin has reminded us -- and them -- of that fact. And it drives them bananas.

The elites not only fear Governor Palin's visceral appeal to ordinary Americans, they also dread the likelihood that, like Reagan, she will be successful if she becomes president. Despite their best efforts to strangle Reagan's presidential prospects in the 1970s with warnings of nuclear war and economic disaster, they failed. When Reagan won and became one of the most successful presidents in history, those warnings were exposed as the utter nonsense a vast majority of Americans knew they were. When Reagan finished his second term, they had to spend the next two decades rewriting history in an attempt to discredit him. They failed in this endeavor as well.

They know the same will happen if Governor Palin becomes president. She has a history of success and accomplishment at all levels of government. Dan Calabrese, in an article for the Appeal-Democrat, makes this very point:

When it comes to the nuts and bolts of governing, Palin is one of the most substantive politicians to arrive on the scene in quite some time. And when it comes to having the intestinal fortitude necessary keep the interests of the people at the top of the agenda, I can't think of a single person anywhere in politics who is Palin's equal.

If you disagree with Palin's philosophy of governing because you are a political liberal, that's fine. But if you're an honest person, stop trying to pretend she's some sort of good-looking moron.

The more you read about Palin's experience in governing, the more you understand why the national political establishments of both parties hope to smother her political career in its crib. She knows how to govern — better than most of them do, in fact. She just won't do it the way they do it, and that scares the crap out of them.

The elite's horror over the prospect of a successful President Palin is the underlying cause of PDS. Reagan's success exposed them for what they are: nothing more than vacuous pontificators who, like their hero Barack Obama, have never accomplished anything of note in their lives. They only talk about accomplishing things while those like Ronald Reagan and Governor Palin actually accomplish them.

The fact that Governor Palin is much younger and potentially far more influential than Reagan is not lost on them. Governor Palin is more accomplished, speaks better, writes better, and connects better than their Messiah, and this terrifies them. She has the vision, ability, drive, and clarity of purpose to succeed. She's smarter than all of them...and they know it. A successful Palin presidency is their worst nightmare. For this and other reasons, Palin Derangement Syndrome won't fade away.