Something very subtle and wonderful has taken place.  And it has come as a surprise.

It is amazing how much most of us are conditioned by a rewards system.  There are few who continue to do labor which bears no fruit, right?  On the other hand, many will repeat disgusting, illegal, or risky behavior, if it actually worked for them on a previous occasion.  No complex thought here.

But in our contemporary culture, there has been so much inversion of ideals of reward for good behavior.  Of course crime can pay;  people can make more money selling ecstasy or crystal meth than selling BMWs, much less selling shoes.  How much money did that prostitute who ruined the career of Elliot Spitzer make in the end?  Quite a lot, and quite quickly.

There is an epidemic of similar inversions.  This is an era of rewards for bad behavior; do something ugly, stupid, grotesque, or immoral - get a TV show, Playboy spread, or book deal. On the other hand, play by the rules and they apparently smell weakness; and arrive quickly to present a whole new volume of ADDITIONAL rules, till eventually you feel you are being crushed under their weight. But don't expect help; few have noticed you exist -- not in this Jerry Springer circus environment. 

I can all but guarantee those hooligan  twits vandalizing St. Paul during the RNC will get laid, by lady friends as wack as they are.  And they'll turn to using that angle again; because it worked. Bad behavior can reap gorgeous rewards; and well-meaning, law-respecting lifestyles can leave one with staggering bills; and a demanding taxman looking for yet more of your money to build bridges to no where.

And we're arrived at politics and politicians.  How many politicians in our lifetime have used ugly means to achieve their personal goals?  The public can be regularly snowballed (look at John Edwards homepage for some ironic rhetoric and moral posturing). Typical political "rewards" would equate to votes.  Votes are typically garnered through an ugly and familiar playbook, composed of strong financial backing, savvy strategic marketing, a ruthless dismantling of your opponents, tapping into fears, saying just what folks want to hear, or making lovely promises of a free lunch. Circular logic, smoke and mirrors, lies and denials, smears and propaganda, outright deceit -- it all works regularly. And it is reasonable to conclude that if politicians employed nefarious tactics once, (or even watched another peer make it work), they will employ what they've learned again in the pursuit of their desires.  How much cynicism is born of the contempt we ultimately feel for these politicians?

Enough bad sentiment; this is a good story.  John McCain is an admittedly imperfect Republican and a man whose long career has found him on the wrong side of his share of issues.  But he is a man who is true to himself, and at this unique point in time, he did something bold which few predicted: he handed a magnificent reward to the relatively unknown Governor of Alaska, Sarah Palin.

Sarah Palin is not here so rewarded because she looks right, smiles right, smells right,  talks right, or even because she is a woman (although all of these are certainly potential assets).  Sarah Palin is here rewarded because she has taken a stance in her administrative career.  It is a stance that makes the cynical voter pause and gaze up from the slouched downcast moping which has been his habit.  "Could this be?  Does she treat her constituency right?"  Now Al Capone treated his constituency right; but to be performing well on the immediate level, while paying respect to a larger picture, a national level of concern at the same time -- this suggests exceptional integrity.

Alternately, Senator Obama has inspired great hope; but the lessons are different. Obama is a man who has received reward for less than exceptional behavior.  In analysis of Obama's career you find a personal political history of strategic behavior; dicey allegiances and alliances.  I doubt he had a choice;  Chicago is a cesspool.  But surely he didn't vote "present" in the Senate 130 times because he's stupid, or incapable of choice;  it is a strategy, at our expense.  "Don't get yourself on the record on that issue, my friend. *wink*..." Maybe I'm wrong.

I argue Obama is not actually getting rewarded for his actions of merit; he is rising beautifully and gracefully, but it is as a result of CONCEPTS of merit.  Even if his concepts are flawless, the "reward lesson" for all of us is, "say the right thing.  Say it well".

But what matters is not these names or personalities, rather the behavioral model being played out. Sarah Palin just received an excellent award for some irregular political behavior that we the people desperately need. Even if you don't like her politics, the manner of her behavior in office can end up benefiting every single one of us. Why, even if our impressions of her unselfish and fiscally responsible acts AREN'T TRUE, she still would be receiving an enormous lesson on what she SHOULD consider successful behavior. Indeed, all politicians on the present scene might reassess their strategies; as this woman is proving a pattern too rarely witnessed in modern government.

She is being rewarded handsomely for being strong, defiant, and principled.  Not clever, or flawlessly strategic, or well-financed by influential friends and backers. It is her unusual bravery and politically risky behavior which brought her soaring wildly into the national spotlight.   This frames the future for a toning down of public cynicism.  She is poised to teach herself, her peers, and us, that the United States is ready to show appreciation, and indeed reward, for good behavior, that we so badly need and so rarely see. She and the nation has been handed the blueprint of a system of extraordinary benefit for extraordinary action.  This blueprint could be used to rehab our capital. Even if she doesn't win office, the case has been made for a functional new paradigm.

Surely the lesson will fade, as surely as it will return again.  But for this moment in time, the recipe is strongly enforced; trickery or deceit is less successful than responsible excellence.