You have read a lot about Sarah Palin, and I’m afraid I don’t have much wisdom to add. It seems to me that she has exposed herself to charges of flakiness (and I never thought that about her — never thought that such charges were legitimate). I thought she did herself no favors with her resignation announcement — I mean, with the words she used. The basketball analogy was particularly strained. And, to me, if she has acted shrewdly, that shrewdness is very well hidden. Doesn’t mean it’s not there, of course.

As regular readers know, I am an admirer and defender of Palin’s. Oh, what the heck: I love the woman. It is true that some of that love has to do with the nutso, virulent, and alarming hatred against her. But that was true of my feelings toward Reagan, too: The more people around me hated and defamed him, the more I loved and defended him.

Sure, I’m pro-Palin — very. But I’m really, really anti-anti-Palin.

The other day, I thought of something a friend of mine said — a friend who is a wiser and greater appreciator of America than most. She said, “One of the things I most love about this country is that someone like Sarah Palin can emerge — emerge out of the blue. Just an ordinary/extraordinary American.” Is it still true? I mean, as true as it was?

Mark Steyn wrote that national office may “dwindle down to the unhealthily singleminded (Clinton, Obama), the timeserving emirs of Incumbistan (Biden, McCain) and dynastic heirs (Bush).” Gosh, what a shame that would be.

That’s enough about Our Sarah — the soon-to-be ex-governor of Alaska — for now. Will have more about her later. Won’t we all?!

‐Oh, hang on: In commentary about Palin, much has been written in recent days about Nixon’s “last press conference.” That event is terribly misremembered, or incorrectly lodged. Let me give you something I wrote a few years ago:

I’m reminded of a story, which I hope you’ll find relevant. It concerns how historical events grow into myth, and get distorted. Stephen Ambrose, when he was doing his biographical trilogy on Nixon, went back and watched The Last Press Conference — or listened to it, I forget which. You remember that this is the press conference that Nixon conducted after he lost the California gubernatorial race in 1962. It is remembered that this was a low point for Nixon, that he was out-of-control, surly — probably drunk. Ambrose was shocked to discover that, in reality, he had been composed, gracious, “appropriate,” as we would now say. The line “You won’t have Nixon to kick around any longer” was delivered with a smile and a wink, to appreciative laughter.

Incidentally, the above is from a speech I gave about Solzhenitsyn, here. (That speech concerned Solzhenitsyn’s historic commencement address at Harvard.)

‐Some readers have asked me to comment on the senator and the brigadier general — Sen. Barbara Boxer and Brig. Gen. Michael Walsh. I will do so briefly.

Testifying before her, Walsh called her “ma’am.” She said — with irritation, according to reports — “You know, do me a favor: Could you say ‘senator’ instead of ‘ma’am’?” Pricelessly, Walsh responded, “Yes, ma’am.” (He later switched to “Yes, senator.”)

Three things: A military man was being a military man. He would have said, “Yes, sir,” to a male senator — not “senator.”

As a rule, people have a right to be addressed the way they want to be addressed. (Unlike our president, I would not have referred to the top Iranian oppressor as the “Supreme Leader.”)

Finally: In beholding Barbara Boxer, I think of an expression: “Get over yourself.”

‐In recent weeks, we have learned something ugly about the OAS — the Organization of American States. They are eager for Communist Cuba to rejoin: without any democratic reforms whatsoever. And they have booted Honduras, which is struggling to hold on to its democracy.

Strange things are afoot in Latin America (as well as in Washington). (Yes, that is an allusion to Bill and Ted.) (That’s a movie — I do not refer to Clinton and Kennedy.)

‐You may have read this article about Saddam Hussein, and his statements to Americans post-capture. This was the last paragraph of the article: “And he took personal responsibility for ordering the launching of Scud missiles against Israeli targets during the 1991 Gulf War, saying he did it because he blamed Israel and its influence in the United States for all Arab problems.”

Yes, that is a great sadness in the Arab world: and the superstition or myth or lie that holds it back, generation after generation . . .

‐I thought I should say something about Wal-Mart and “national health care,” since I’ve been such a bold defender of Wal-Mart, for many years. For instance, I wrote a “cover story” for National Review in 2004 called “The New Colossus: Wal-Mart is America’s store, and the world’s, and its enemies are sadly behind.” (There is no such thing as a “cover story,” really — it’s just a story, or an article, that an editor has decided to put on the cover.)

Wal-Mart has come out for ObamaCare, basically, giving the administration critical business-world cover. You could say that Wal-Mart is being, as it has always been, a shrewd capitalist: It could weather ObamaCare, where its competitors — few as they are — would wilt. I understand the dog-eat-dog calculation behind the endorsement. Still: It stinks, bad. And it should have the effect of making free-marketeers admire Wal-Mart less.

Unless I’m missing something . . .

‐Another Cuban athlete has defected — this one a baseball player named Aroldis Chapman. He did it in Holland, where the national team had gone to play. (Why does the dictatorship let them out at all?) Chapman later said, “I walked out easily, right through the hotel door, and I hopped in a car and left. It was easy.” Oh, if only it were so easy for other Cubans — but hurray for Aroldis Chapman, and may he have the most beautiful life.

‐Stay with sports for a second (or at least with athletes): Way back in 2002, I wrote a piece on Tiger Woods called “Hunting Tiger: Everyone wants a piece of him.” It was about the great social pressures that many were putting on Tiger: and the pressure was, in a phrase, to “blacken up.” To be more of a racial-political figure. And Tiger, in the main, has always been a universalist.

Well, the pressure on him is still there, as reported in this article. The football legend Jim Brown is on his case — long has been. He said, “You know what’s so interesting about Tiger to me? He is a killer, he will run over you. . . . But as an individual for social change? Terrible. Terrible. Because he can get away with teaching kids to play golf, and that’s his contribution.”

Get away with teaching kids to play golf — well, nuts to Jim Brown, and, as for you, Tiger, keep going. Keep going. And don’t let the bastards get you down, even when they’re in the Football Hall of Fame.

‐The above-linked article — abominable — said this:

“Indeed, with a person of mixed heritage much like himself running for president, Woods wouldn’t even publicly endorse Barack Obama. He never gave his reasons — who knows, he might have liked John McCain — but the fact Buick was paying him $8 million a year and Republicans tend to buy Buicks might have something to do with it.”

This was an Associated Press article, by the way. Did wire services always publish rancid opinion pieces?

Anyway, as you may know, Tiger spoke at an inaugural event in Washington last January. Never mentioning politics or the new president, he gave a tribute to the military, called “You’ll Never Walk Alone.” Tiger said,

I grew up in a military family — and my role models in life were my mom and dad, Lt. Col. Earl Woods. My dad was a Special Forces operator, and many nights friends would visit our home. They represented every branch of service, and every rank. In my dad, and in those guests, I saw first hand the dedication and commitment of those who serve. They come from every walk of life. From every part of our country. Time and again, across generations, they have defended our safety in the dark of night and far from home.

And so on. Read it all here, if you care to. ‐Okay, this is a genuine sports note: This season, Tiger has now won Arnold Palmer’s tournament, Jack Nicklaus’s tournament, and his own. Not a bad trifecta. In my dreams . . . Which reminds me: One of the most delightful, and poignant, remarks I have ever heard about Tiger Woods came from Roger Maltbie, the former PGA Tour player who now does on-course commentary. One tournament, when Tiger was really over-the-top perfect, Maltbie said, “When I was young, I dreamed of being a great golfer.” (And, mind you, Maltbie went on to win eleven professional tournaments — a stellar career, by most reckonings.) “But I never even dreamed of being this good.” ‐Last January, I did a long column called “My Kingdom for a Safe Zone” (here). It was about the intrusion of partisan politics into spheres that should not be political. I was thinking especially of what musicians say from stages in concert halls. Well, last week, I was covering a New York Philharmonic pops concert. (They don’t call them pops concerts — they call them “Summertime Classics” — but whatev.) And the conductor, Bramwell Tovey, made remarks from the stage: many of them, as he always does. (He usually does so genially and charmingly, too.) For the past several years, he has conducted the Philharmonic Fourth of July concert, and, as a Brit, he makes some crack about the unpleasantness between the Crown and the Yanks at the end of the 18th century. This year was a little different: He indulged in some anti-Bush, pro-Obama talk. He said that, whatever unpleasantness there may have been in the past, 2009 has seen a new chapter, and “we are very pleased” — speaking for all Britons, of course. Naturally, the New York audience erupted in cheers, as did some of the players in the orchestra. (One tall bassist ostentatiously clapped, hands over head. Yeah, dude, we could have guessed — no need to demonstrate.) You want a safe zone — a zone free of politics? Free of kicking at Bush and exulting over Obama? Stay clear of New York concert halls, I can tell you that. Oh, one more thing: The funny thing about Tovey’s statement? Anyone who follows international relations at all knows that there is a strange new awkwardness in Anglo-American relations. But who cares, when you have a surefire audience to please and pander to? I must say, I think considerably less of Bramwell Tovey. (Not that this could affect my music criticism a whit — it never does. Daniel Barenboim could wave a ballot marked for Hamas, and I would be utterly neutral, musically.) ‐In last Thursday’s Impromptus, I mentioned one of my favorite bylines in all of journalism: Cinnamon Stillwell. Is that not a remarkable, beautiful name? I also did a follow-up item on her in the Corner — in which I published a note from her. (Go here.) Cinnamon Stillwell is a self-described “9/11 Republican,” and you can read her testimony in this column. She is not so much Republican or Democrat, left or right, as she is pro-civilization. When the barbarians are at the gate — shouldn’t that concentrate the national or civilizational mind, making partisan differences pale? You might think . . . Anyway, got a lot of mail, re names — and would like to share some:

Jay,
When I was doing some research on Flannery O’Connor, I wrote to a college in Georgia that handles her papers and photographs. The woman in charge of the collection is named Strawberry Luck (real name). My thought is that Strawberry Luck should be an O’Connor character herself.

Several other readers wrote to tell me about Honeysuckle Weeks — a British actress. “An English rose,” they say (though she was born in Cardiff). (That’s if we want to get technical.)

In that note I published, Cinnamon Stillwell said, “Some of my friends call me Cinn, although I urge them not to take it literally!” A reader wrote,

My mother’s name was Mary Helen. Growing up, her family always called her “Hel” (though she eventually insisted on “Mary”). Then, in the last several years of her life, she was in a wheelchair — which, of course, meant that she was “Hel on Wheels”!

Fun. And this is really nice:

Hi, Jay:
Cinnamon’s mention of “Vinegar Joe” reminded me of our daughter’s connection. [The journalist had mentioned, in her note, that she is no relation to Gen. Joseph “Vinegar Joe” Stilwell.] The Stilwell Award at West Point is given each year to the cadet with the highest grade in ethics. Our daughter Jennifer won it — see the photo attached. Jen is the shorter girl. The really cool part is that the other young lady in the photo, presenting the award, is Jen’s classmate Jackie Stilwell — Joe’s great-granddaughter!
Jennifer, by the way, has already served a tour in Afghanistan and is headed for Iraq in August.

And that photo? Here.

Reader writes,

Jay,
At least Cinnamon’s hippie parents gave her a name that evokes happiness. I took my dog for some shots the other day and the man who administered them was named Fidel Murphy. How do you think he got that name?

I shudder to think. Sounds like an Irishman in Ann Arbor . . .

Anyway, do read that column by Cinnamon Stillwell (again, here). It is a familiar story (I have a similar one, having to do with the Cold War) — but powerfully and individually expressed.

‐You may remember, from Thursday’s column, that wonderful letter about how, over time, Italians in America became “white.” Are you up for some additional mail?

Mr. Nordlinger,
I’m 37 and Italian on my mother’s side. My great-grandparents were “off the boat” and my grandmother told us all kinds of stories about how Pennsylvania Dutch folks wouldn’t let their kids play with the Italian kids, because the Italians weren’t “white.”
And my paternal grandfather had a girlfriend of Italian descent before he met my grandmother. His family forced him to end the relationship because the girl wasn’t “white.”

On the subject of racial-ethnic perceptions in America, I have a friend who says, “When I found out that Jews were no longer a minority, I had my first good night’s sleep in 2,000 years!”

Try this:

Hi, Mr. Nordlinger,
. . . on the screwy state of race/ethnicity, I completely agree. I’m mixed, and can pass for quite a few things: tanned white, Hispanic, even Turkish. (This happened when I visited Turkey.) My appearance confuses quite a few people who want to pigeonhole me, but I usually end up saying that my mom is white and my dad is Ethiopian. My biggest frustration in high school was the tests where they wanted you to check off your ethnicity. I always marked “Other” or ignored it when possible, but my somewhat cynical father told me to mark “Black” because I could get more scholarships that way.

A very, very familiar story. By the way, the idea of “checking off your ethnicity” reminds me: I once did a piece called “Take Your Boxes and . . .: A nation of race rebels?” found (just by chance) in this collection. (Pardon the plug.)

‐A friend sent me a video that spoofs the Democrats’ foray into automaking. Go here. I think you’ll get a kick out of. My favorite part? Something about a car radio, and how you wouldn’t want to miss a minute of NPR . . .

‐Good gravy, has this Impromptus gone on for a while. But I have kind of an excuse: The column will be on hiatus, I think, as NR cruises through the Mediterranean (a portion thereof). I should be back in the July 20s; I think there’ll be a music piece sometime next week, if you care for that diversion.

End with a little story? Okay, I’m on a bus yesterday — two-hour ride — and there are two ladies in a seat quite near me. One is Belgian, one is American; they have just met. And they find common ground: their belief in the evil of George W. Bush. He is the worst American president in history, he ruined the world, he is a war criminal, etc., etc. I should point out, too, that these ladies were the only people talking on the entire bus.

And I’m thinking, “If I want to hear this, I can go to Davos” — and get the Alps in the bargain!

But who can kvetch with an NR cruise coming up? There the talk is more . . . sympathetic (usually). See you, cruisers and non-cruisers, and thanks for slogging through with me.