On Tuesday, Sarah Palin arrived in New York to begin two days of talks with a succession of world leaders. As she stood in front of the mirror on Monday evening, she must have wondered what an Alaskan hockey mom with a passport that has hardly a stamp upon it should wear to meet the Afghan president, Hamid Karzai. And for this most international of occasions, she picked a pair of earrings in the shape of her home state of Alaska.
Forget about the rimless glasses; Palin tells us a lot about herself through her choice of jewellery. Her ear-wear displays a carefully crafted lack of sophistication. During a campaign rally in her home state, she decided upon beaded earrings that looked as if they had been picked up at a local craft fair. Accessorised with a glittery brooch that spelled out the word Alaska, the look couldn't have been more small-town America, more I'm one of you, I'm ordinary, I fight for my people.
It's a universal wisdom that political women wear unobtrusive earrings. Michelle Obama, when addressing the 2008 Democratic national convention, chose elegant, understated diamond studs. When Hillary Clinton went campaigning, her lobes were usually graced with simple knots of gold, occasionally a pearl, never anything more ostentatious. In contrast, Palin, on her trip to Mississippi to speak about the impending hurricane Gustav, sported an oversized pair of gold hoops. Obama channelled Jackie O; Palin drew inspiration from Britney Spears.
So what is Palin saying with her homage to Alaska? With terrifying literal-mindedness, these earrings express everything we need to know about her pride in her roots and her people. At least no one will be in any doubt about where she's from.
