Posted on 08/16/2011 9:16:09 PM PDT by 2ndDivisionVet
Turns out she didn't try the fried butter after all. But there was plenty of waffling to go around when 2008 Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin visited the Iowa State Fair on Friday.
Upon arrival, Palin immediately headed to the livestock barns and the media cattle call ensued. Were there more cameras than cows? Maybe not (this is the state fair after all), but the scene was surreal.
Palin and her husband, Todd, feigned amusement and surprise that the "lamestream" media was making such a spectacle of her return to the Hawkeye State. She merely accepted an invitation to visit, she maintained. Never mind that she fired up her idled bus tour just a day before the biggest political event of the year so far - the Iowa Straw Poll.
And she did talk politics. A lot. She spoke to everyone from Journal Des Moines reporter Mike Wiser to Jake Tapper of ABC News and journalists from the influential website Politico. In nearly every conversation, she criticized President Obama. When asked what Americans were looking for in the next president, she described a candidate that looks remarkably like a certain former Alaska governor.
Was she buttering up potential caucus goers or simply taking the opportunity to seize some of the spotlight? We don't know. But it is interesting to hear Iowa Republican Party Chairman Matt Strawn raise doubts and point out that he sees no evidence of a Palin organization that could be ready to compete in the caucuses.
Friday's visit is nothing new, though, for Palin. She clearly enjoys the attention and clearly takes delight in bashing the president, the media and "the establishment." And we in the media make it easy for her, following her everywhere and reporting every syllable she utters.
Iowans will quickly grow tired of this act if Palin doesn't make her intentions clear soon. She told the media throng a decision will come sometime in September or October. We'd like to see an earlier timetable, but today we will settle for simply encouraging Palin to be a woman of her word and let us know where she stands.
So far, her track record on promises here appears mixed. She nixed the fried butter and opted for corn dogs instead. But we won't hold that against her just yet.
She may have gotten a better offer.
Either way she has been good for the cause.
If she wants to be competitive in Iowa I’d say she needs to announce by Labor Day so her ground team has time to organize. However, as much as we here in Iowa would like to think we’re important, we’re not. We only pick the GOP nominee about half the time.
Where she needs to come out strong is SC and FL. What the drop dead date in those states are I don’t know.
Is that what the editorial board of the Sioux City Iowa Journal are? Elites? ..... I'll be darned.
sound like someone is trying to smoke her out to take the heat off Perry, Romney and Bauchmann. Right now, they’ll taking their pot shots and buring money (not to mention MSM potshots).
I’m not familiar with the The Sioux City Journal, but now I see it’s indistinguishable from every other left wing rag out there.
That statement is in direct contradiction to others made by Iowa Republican Party operatives.
As for myself, who does NOT support Sarah Palin for president, I would be very disappointed if she declined to run.
lol
That was my thought exactly. Poor wittle babies! Sarah's not playing fair, huh?. LOL! This is ridicious. I've read that in the past some candidates have waited as late as October to declare won. Although, many of her fans want her to jump in asap, there's plenty of time. Patience is a virtue. Sarah knows what she's doing. She has a strategy.
I haven't seen a direct quote yet. Did she say this?
Then former Governor Ronald Reagan waited until November 13, 1979 to declare his candidacy for the 1980 race for the GOP nomination.
Since when do the press have to report facts?
I'm sick to death of Northeastern & Beltway Republicans trying to shove Chris Christie down our throats.
Sarah will decide when Sarah decides, not when the Establishment elitists decide that she must decide.
They’re scared to death of her.
LOL, well I'm sure she'll get right on that for ya'll.
:: snort ::
Technically speaking, Palin doesn't have to officially declare her candidacy until November in order to get into all of the primaries. Like Ronald Reagan, she should definitely wait.
I think she should start forming a committee and laying the groundwork, but she should wait until November to decide and make a formal announcement.
She doesn't need to spend the money or energy this early. She already has good name recognition and an army of loyal Tea Party followers who will jump start her organization. Tea Party members will support her campaign financially until she gets a couple wins under her belt.
She doesn't need the vicious onslaught from the mainstream media this early. When she declares, the levels of attack will go up exponentially, higher than they were in 2008. We should expect a world record that will stand for a long time for the level of media attack she will experience.
What does having an organization in Iowa or anywhere else for many months buy her? Does she really need a phone bank? Can't volunteers use their cell phones from home? She won't need to work hard at media relations because the local media will be clamoring to get to her. Tea Party members can make and put up political signs. They can stand at intersections and freeway overpasses with banners and signs.
Like Ronald Reagan, she should not play the same game the career politicians play.
She should wait until November, when the Super Committee on deficit cutting will surely screw things up, or if the Balanced Budget Amendment fails. She can use either of those events as a battle cry and call-to-arms, then explode on to the scene with a short, highly energized all-out assault. Her campaign should be a two-month blitzkrieg leading up to the first primaries in January.
I agree that Florida is the one she really has to focus on and win, but she can win Iowa as well.
It would be a good idea to call Tim Pawlenty and to hire some of his staff and maybe some of his organizational infrastructure. He might have had the best staff of any of the candidates. It would be good to get Pawlenty's support as well.
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Actually, I saw her in an interview say that she’ll make an announcement in September, because she didn’t want it to seem like she was stringing people along.
Wow. Thanks for the info. I thought I had heard a November date also, but wasn’t sure. That is awesome. The last true conservative President we had was Ronald Reagan and he waited that long. We need another Ronald Regan.
I don’t think Christie is the answer. He is a insider. We need a outsider like Palin who has a reputation of putting people of her own party in jail.
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