Ruben Navarrette Jr. is a nationally syndicated columnist and a member of the editorial board of the San Diego Union-Tribune . Read his column here . Ruben Navarrette says Sarah Palin 's critics challenged her because of prejudices about small-town values . SAN DIEGO , California ( CNN ) -- During the presidential election , some Democrats demanded to know how I could defend Alaska Gov . Sarah Palin . Simply put , Palin is my people . She 's small-town folk who wound up in the big leagues . Because I grew up in a small town with a population of less than 15,000 people , I was disgusted by the insults and condescension coming from those who think of themselves as the enlightened elite . Meanwhile , in small towns , I detected great affection for Palin . People talked about how she was `` a real person '' who `` reflected their values . '' The most significant divide in America is n't Red State vs. Blue State , it 's rural vs. urban . The country mouse and the city mouse are still slugging it out . In 1982 , New York Mayor Ed Koch ran unsuccessfully for governor of New York . Some say the deciding factor was when Koch described life in upstate New York as `` sterile '' and said he dreaded living in the `` small town '' of Albany , if elected . That did n't play well in rural areas . Now comes Colin Powell . During a recent appearance on CNN 's `` Fareed Zakaria GPS , '' Powell attempted an autopsy on the Republican Party 's failed presidential bid . He went after Palin , accusing her of pushing the party so far to the right that it went over a cliff . `` I think [ Palin ] had something of a polarizing effect when she talked about how small-town values are good , '' Powell said . `` Well , most of us do n't live in small towns . And I was raised in the South Bronx , and there 's nothing wrong with my value system from the South Bronx . '' You 'd think the presidential campaign was about conservatives picking on urbanites . It was n't . Sure , some Republicans probably made a mistake by using phrases such as `` real America '' or `` real Americans '' as a rallying cry for the base . Americans who live in cities might have thought they were being slighted . But those phrases referred as much to people 's politics and values as it did their zip code . I live in a city with a population of more than a million people and I never thought the GOP singled me out as not being a `` real American . '' If anything , it appeared that big-city liberals were tapping into prejudices about small-town America to belittle the governor of Alaska . After Powell attacked Palin , one of the governor 's most vocal defenders , conservative talk show host Rush Limbaugh , returned the favor by attacking Powell . `` What is this hatred for conservatives and small-town people and Sarah Palin ? '' Limbaugh asked on his radio show . `` I know a lot of people that are from the Bronx , Gen. Powell , and if you think the values there in the Bronx today reflect the ones you grew up with , take a trip back and see if the street corners and the activities there are the same as when you were growing up . '' Limbaugh got it . When people use phrases such as `` small-town values , '' it 's as much about time as it is place . The idea is n't that people who live in small towns have better values than people who live in cities . It 's simply an attempt to recall , with nostalgia , what life was like when more Americans lived in small towns . It used to be that more families ate dinner together and high school students worked summers and after school . It used to be that our schools did n't make excuses for why some kids do n't learn because they were too busy trying to teach them . It used to be that parents were n't interested in being their kids ' best friends , only good parents . And it used to be that people pulled their own weight and would never dare ask for a handout . During a recent interview with the conservative newspaper , Human Events , Palin was asked if she thought her humble background accounted for some of the flak she got from the media . Palin acknowledged that she did n't come from elite stock , but said that she was grateful for that . `` I got my education from the University of Idaho because that 's what I could afford , '' she said . `` No , I do n't come from the self-proclaimed 'movers and shakers ' group and that 's fine with me . It 's caused me , or rather , allowed me , to work harder and pull myself up by my bootstraps without anyone else helping me . I think it allows me to be in touch with the vast majority of Americans who are in the same position that I am . '' Sarah Palin understands a lot about America . Too bad many Americans do n't understand Sarah Palin . No worries . They may get another chance to acquaint themselves with her -- in say , four years . The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of Ruben Navarrette Jr .
Tom Navarrette : Sarah Palin rose from small - town life to big - time politics . She 's been accused by Democrats of running the campaign , he says . He says she was unfairly targeted by liberals working against small towns . Navarrette : We can expect to hear from Palin again , maybe in four years .