What exactly has Palin done? She quit left office halfway through her first term, caused quite an embarassment for McCain throughout the campaign, and then signed onto Fox as a "contributor."
What are her accomplishments? She hasn't done anything to convince people that she is worthy or capable of being president. She's damn good playing the victim, however. I will give her that.
A history much like Obama.
A history nothing like Obama. He is truly a self-made man, whether you agree with anything he's done or not. He didn't grow up with a father, yet went on to Harvard and taught law for twelve years. What was Palin, a sportscaster? Give me a break.
Clinton, Bush 43, and Obama are 3 men who became president.
Clinton felt our pain. I suppose that's because he grew up poor, never knew his real father, and had to stand up to an abusive stepfather. He overcame a lot. Yet, he never forgot where he came from or what it was like to live through that. But for whatever reason, he was mocked for feeling our pain by the very same people who would later come to describe themselves as compassionate conservatives. There's a disconnect there.
Bush 43 grew up with two parents, a family fortune, and every advantage a child could have, including a legacy scholarship to an Ivy League school. As a youth, Bush didn't have to overcome any hardship other than the "burden" of having to live up to the well-known accomplishments of several generations of his own family. Even so, he was given assistance at every stage of his life. Most people would welcome such burdens.
Obama was like Clinton. He grew up poor and without a father. He didn't have a steady home life, and his mother was not a constant presence in his life while he was being raised by his grandparents. That's a lot of disadvantages to overcome, but Obama overcame those disadvantages, and went on to thrive in school. Maybe that explains why he became a community organizer. That makes sense since many disadvantaged people who once benefited from the help of others feel an obligation to pay it forward by volunteering to help other people who are similarly disadvantaged.
Most people would praise such volunteerism. In fact, while he was president, Bush 43 called on people to volunteer to help people in their communities. Alas, so-called compassionate conservatives couldn't even rhetorically live up to their own mantra because they've routinely mocked Obama being a community organizer.
The moral of the story? If you want to talk about compassion, seek out a conservative. If you want to witness compassion, seek out a liberal.