And she’s not even running...yet.
Ineluctable
I think that a lot of people look at the head-to-head numbers between Obama and Palin and they think that he’d clobber her. I don’t believe that for a second. If you understand human nature, especially when it comes to politics, those numbers are pretty much worthless.
Here’s why. If someone is a Romney, Pawlenty, or Bachmann supporter, and they are asked how they would vote in a contest between Obama and each of the GOP candidates, there is a very strong chance that they would say that they would vote for Obama over Palin. It’s human nature to try to make your candidate’s most feared rival look as bad as possible.
At this point in time, does anyone believe that Palin would lose such a large number of the people who voted for McCain? Does anyone believe that everyone who voted for Obama in 2008 would vote for him again in 2012?
You must question motivation of the pollster and of the polled. I can’t believe that a pollster thinks that the head-to-head numbers are of any value at all, except to drive public perception.
LLS
Don’t be silly.
Palin is not running, just collecting money while she can (sources: the Romney campaign, the mainstream media, and the White House)
Palin is not serious.
Palin is not smart.
Palin is not qualified.
Palin is not really the mother of her baby, but she is getting divorced, she doesn’t know where Africa is, nor does she know the difference between North and South Korea, she’s a bad mother who is dragging her unwilling daughter along on a campaign trip, she’s a greedy politician who is using campaign funds to support a vacation with her daughter, she’s getting special treatment from the Park Service in violation of federal law, she’s abusing the flag to raise funds, she’s a diva, she’s a RINO, she doesn’t know where Russia is, Palin is divisive (despite the 88% support she had as governor), Palin doesn’t even know Longfellow’s work and foolishly refers to the version of events told in Paul Revere’s letter rather than the authoritative poetic rendering of history, and she’s not even news [the best supported attack of all, since there are more than 10,000 GoogleNews hits a day confirming that she’s not news].
PING THE PALIN POSSE!!
Monica Crowley Interviews Stephen Bannon about "The Undefeated"
Rita Crosby Interviews Stephen Bannon about his Palin film, "The Undefeated"
Monica Crowley Interviews Stephen Bannon about "The Undefeated"
Rita Crosby Interviews Stephen Bannon about his Palin film, "The Undefeated"
However, unlike the major negatives for most other candidates, this is reversible. Romney, on the other hand, is saddled with Obamneycare and his flip-flops. Gingrich's problems are a byproduct of his very nature. Bachmann isn't going to magically gain executive experience in the next few months. And so on.
The fact is, Sarah Palin isn't as well known as the polling data indicates. A lot of people think they know Sarah Palin, but most of them know "Sarah Palin", the media caricature, not the real Sarah Palin. As I've been maintaining for some time now, the only real challenge Palin has to the Presidency is whether or not she can overcome her own doppleganger.
Frankly, I had counted on her skills as a retail politician to do this job during the primary campaign. Imagine my surprise to see it starting to happen before she even announces! The Undefeated changes the game by shifting the discussion back to the real Sarah Palin. The media orgy over her emails is a gift from her enemies that she is likewise getting a huge advantage out of.
Some of the sharper elements in the media see the 18-wheeler bearing down on them, and are trying to deflect it. "Oh, where oh where is the 'old' Sarah Palin?" they cry out. But this will fail too, because she's still there -- a Republican who nonetheless is an outsider in her own party, and who is reviled by the entrenched interests; someone who appeals to the public as a whole by pointing out our shared values and beliefs; someone who will work with whom she needs to to get her agenda accomplished, but does so by bringing them into her fold, not vice-versa.