Posted on 06/25/2009 12:37:16 PM PDT by lewisglad
Pew: Palin is the most popular Republican 73% of Republicans have a favorable opinion of Gov. Sarah Palin (17% unfavorable) while only 57% have a favorable opinion (18% unfavorable) of Mitt Romney.
Now, I may not know much about presidential politics, but I am pretty certain that before one can get elected president, one has to win the party’s nomination first — a concept that Hillary Clinton had a difficult time grasping last year as she began her general election campaign in January instead of the traditional after-winning-the-nomination.
Which leads me to conclude that Mrs. Palin is in the driver’s seat with Gov. Romney riding shotgun.
The Pew Research Center for the People & the Press polled 1,502 adults on June 10-14.
This was at the height of the David Letterman controversy, Letterman having told the Willow Palin joke on June 10. That may have skewed the poll. I don’t know.
Also this was an all adults survey, rather than likely voters or even registered voters. That tends to skew the results.
Pew made a big deal about their overall favorable/unfavorable ratings among all voters. It is too early for that comparison.
Among all adults, Palin is at 45/44 and Romney is at 40/28 — but by the time the election rolls around, any Republican gets beat up; she’s recovered from 42/48 just before the 2008 election.
Within the party, she is golden. In many ways, her popularity reminds me of Ronald Reagan. She is not as polished as a speaker or as a thinker. Reagan had a very clear — if unfashionable for the time — idea of what America is about in the Carter years. He was considered old and dumb and a good actor.
The 2012 election is way off. But Republicans are known to go with the guy who finished second last time. Is it Mitt Romney, who finished behind John McCain in the primaries? Or is it Sarah Palin, who almost carried McCain to the White House last fall?
Republicans seem to be leaning toward Palin
She isn’t that popular with me.
How can this be? All the Democrats spend their time assuring us that Palin is an awful candidate, and we should nominate a moderate, preferably someone the Democrats endorse.
Palin/Romney would be strong, either that or Palin/Rick Perry depending on how much of a RINO he turns out to be...
I always like Palin on the top for many reasons....but we need to insure a true conservative who respects the idea of a small Fed govt is mandatory. Romney would be good to begin the dismantling of the Fed largesse.
Mitt finished third in the primaries didn’t he? So he’s not even a default second choice in that respect.
If Sarah runs, she has my support. If she doesn’t, someone may get my vote but support is another matter.
Amen! Close the primaries, or those yahoos in New Hampshire will stick us with another RINO...
She’s our only hope of rolling back the damage Zero does.
I agree 100%, but Steele is a wimp.
...and at the rate they’re going, the Libs will have absolutly nothing left in their crap-sack to throw at her by 2012
Damned right she’s the MVP...and (flame suit on) she can thank John McCain for making her that way!
The only reason John picker he was he needed someone really conservative to balance out his RINO ticket.
Palin/Bachmann 2012’
I second that motion. Every open primary will end up nominating a liberal RINO, after every ACORN thug casts their votes as Republicans.
Perry is out there defending her against the nasty comments from John Kerry, good for him! Much classier man than Romney and he, unlike Romney, is running a state that isn’t going bankrupt, Romney left MA in very poor financial shape.
It was impossible to drag his dead @ss over the finish line. If he'd just laid there we might have done it, but NO, he had to grab every stump possible to slow down any momentum he got.
Romney was a governor once, it was only for one term but we got to see him in action, did he earn a reputation for being what you just described?
Obviously the writer doesn't. It doesn't matter what the rank and file republicans want as long as the party leadership favors liberals and republicans continue to hold open primaries. Hence John McCain.
Has Fred Thompson given up on politics again or is he waiting until too late to show up again in 2012?
I think that Romney will always be remembered for his Mass Health care which he voted for. It isn’t working,,,,
I could care less if she looked like Albright, it is her political record I love. She is honest, and real. That is a change I can believe in.
Hopefully, someone else will be popular by 2012 (and won't turn out to be an adulterous idiot).
I've watched an awful lot of videos of Reagan. I think she's MORE polished, which is remarkable when you think of all his experience. Or if polished isn't the right word, she has a natural talent and he had a style, one geared toward an older audience.
Most politicians today are not notable for delivering quality speeches -- and that goes for 0bama, who tends to stammer and hesitate. Palin's a stilletto among bread knives in this regard. (JM$.02)
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