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What Women Owe Palin (Really)

Former governor offers a master class in self-promotion.

Whatever you think about Sarah Palin’s politics, in the three years since the Mama Grizzly stepped onto the national stage, she’s unquestionably helped women in one arena: self-promotion. As Slate's Libby Copeland points out, women have historically been bad at singing their own praises—and they've paid for it in their professional lives. Despite numerous gaffes that have made her fodder for media mockery, Palin has never been hesitant to tout her own greatness. Just last month, the former governor schooled Sean Hannity that she was missing from the list of most viable GOP candidates, saying some polls named her one of the top three candidates. Palin announced Wednesday night that she won’t be joining the 2012 presidential race, but she never once said she isn’t capable of running the country. “Even when her logic is frustrating, even when she contradicts herself, Palin’s unselfconscious brashness is a good thing for women because it is so needed and so exceptional,” says Copeland.