Sarah Love

Sarah Palin, with whom John McCain rocked the political world yesterday, has a story that is quintessentially Alaskan: from hockey mom to VP nominee. (Note to Karl Rove: Hockey moms don't play hockey; their kids do.)

McCain hopes you'll think Sarah's just like Obama. She's living the dream in a country where anything can happen.

But that's not the whole story. Sarah's where she is today in large part because she's an Alaskan.

Obama had to prove himself in the national arena, beginning with his powerful speech at the 2004 Democratic Convention and culminating in a hard-fought battle with Hillary Clinton. Obama has a law degree from Harvard. Sarah has a degree in Communications from the University of Idaho.

Yes, Sarah took on party politics and won in a state that was thankfully growing weary of corruption and big oil. A state that has a smaller population than Brooklyn. A state where it's easy to rise to the top because we have lots to do and not so many people to get it done. Could she have been elected governor in any state other than ours? Doubtful, and definitely not in such a short time.

I'm not trying to diminish Sarah's accomplishments. I'm stating a simple fact that applies not just to Sarah but to countless other Alaskans, myself included.

I came to Alaska as a dewy-eyed, fresh out-of-the box teacher in 1979. The next year I was promoted to principal. No questions asked. The district was desperate for leaders. I started successful businesses and a New York publisher picked up my first book. Would all that have happened had I not been in Alaska? Maybe eventually, but not as easily.

Though it's not the popular stance in Alaska at the moment, I agree with Mike Doogan's editorial in today's Anchorage Daily News. Doogan, a state legislator and novelist, has in no doubt benefited as the rest of us have from being a capable person in state that's desperate for capable people. Like Mike, I like Sarah. But does she have what it takes to run our country? No.

It's the Peter Principle run amok. We see it all the time up here. Thankfully the damage from someone placed beyond their capabilities is usually minimal, though you have to look no farther than Don Young to see that it can be huge. With national and international consquences at stake, it's a risk this Alaskan's not willing to take.

Sarah Who?

Alaska's governor Sarah Palin is the talk of the nation. Just a few weeks ago, I spotted Kaylene Johnson's book, Sarah: How a Small-Town Mom Turned Alaska's Political Establishment on Its Ear on the remainder table at a local bookstore. I'll bet they move it front and center first thing this morning.

When I typed in "Sarah Palin" to check the books sales on Amazon, I was asked if meant "Sarah Plain." Before the day's done, readers looking for the classic Sarah Plain and Tall will be asked if they didn't mean "Sarah Palin."

Kudos to Kaylene Johnson for seeing what none of the rest of us saw coming.

Short Story Celebration

Publisher's Weekly reports that the Rocky Mountain News is commissioning short stories from some of the state's best authors to celebrate Denver's sesquicentennial. Among them is Pam Houston, one of my personal favorites. The stories celebrating Colorado will be published weekly on Tuesdays from now through the end of the year.

How about it, Alaska? Sure, we've got some good collections out there, but wouldn't it be great to read stories penned by some of our best in celebration of our 50th birthday? ADN? FDNM? Anchorage Press? Hope to hear that one of you is latching onto the concept and making it ours.

Press Bubbles and the Power of Myth

Alaska's primary election, with four ballot initiatives, is tomorrow. Our state is unique - some would say even weird - in its politics.

For perspective on the media circus that wraps itself around the election process, may I suggest this Harper's interview with my brother, author and editor Chris Lehmann.

Then for an state-specific take on our political contradictions, check out Alaska: An American Colony by Stephen Haycox.

Happy voting!

Alaskan Authors Weekly Round-Up

Just returned from hiking the Chilkoot Trail. Wow. Four days and three nights of living history and spectacular natural beauty like only Alaska and the Yukon can dish it up. No wonder so many authors - Jack London and Robert Service among them - were inspired by it. Hope to read more primary source stuff about the trail now that I've traversed it (partly in my underwear, but that's another story).

On to this week's round-up of Alaskan Author news. First, Ketchikan's own Charlotte Glover, librarian, is quoted in Publishers Weekly Children's Bookshelf. Glover, who gets rave reviews from visiting authors, talks about which books are flying off the shelves in Alaska's rainiest city. Among them: Cynthia Rylant's Lighthouse Family series, featuring animals on a Pacific Northwest island.

Next, Andromeda Romano-Lax has new blog, 49 Writers, One Moose, featuring Alaskan authors and their work. Andromeda has written 10 travel and natural history books, and her latest work, a novel called The Spanish Bow will be released in paperback this fall.

Hope you weren't like me and missed Mike Doogan's reading from his latest mystery, Skeleton Lake at Title Wave last night. In fact, I'm a little behind on all things Dooganesque, but I'm scrambling to catch up - partway through Lost Angel

Speaking of signings, when you're up in the Valley for the fair, you can Andromeda Romano-Lax and Sherry Simpson at Fireside Books (Palmer) 10:30 to 12:30 and at Pandemonium Booksellers (Wasilla) 1 to 3 on August 30.