Posted on 11/09/2009 7:09:22 PM PST by 2ndDivisionVet
Matthew Continetti has a piece in this weekend’s Weekly Standard hailing Sarah Palin as the ideal leader of a new populist uprising. One obvious objection to his thesis: The populist Sarah is in fact one of the most unpopular figures in American life.
According to Gallup, 63% of Americans say they would never consider voting for her. By a margin of 62%-31% Americans rate Palin “unqualified” to serve as president – by far the worst score for any leading Republican.
In comparison, only 51% of Americans say they would never consider voting for Mitt Romney or Mike Huckabee – and a plurality of Americans rate the two as “qualified”: 50-36 say Huckabee is qualified, 49-39 say Romney is qualified.
Palin supporters have constructed an alternative reality in which their heroine is wildly cheered by the American yeomanry, and despised only by a small coterie of sherry-drinking snobs. No contrary evidence, no matter how overwhelming and uncontradicted, can alter this view: not the collapse in Palin’s support in just 5 weeks in 2008, not the statistical studies that show her as the only vice presidential nominee in ticket to have hurt her ticket, not her rampant unpopularity with American women, not her own flinching from a second encounter with the Alaskan electorate.
In this regard, Continentti’s comparison of Palin to William Jennings Bryan begins to look not only apt, but ominous.
Like Palin, Bryan had some good ideas. He was right about free trade, and he was right too about the gold standard. (Even if his alternative would have been unworkable in its own way.) But he made himself so culturally obnoxious to the American majority that he dragged even his good ideas down to defeat with him. Everybody knows Bryan’s famous line about the “cross of gold.” Not so well remembered are the lines that killed his candidacy in 1896:
"Burn down your cities and leave our farms, and your cities will spring up again as if by magic. But destroy our farms and the grass will grow in the streets of every city in the country."
This was not the way to talk to a rapidly urbanizing nation.
Bryan ran for president three times. He lost every time, and by dwindling margins: 46.7% of the vote in 1896, 45.5% in 1900, and 43% in 1908. Yet not all was lost for him. After four consecutive defeats, the country finally did turn to the Democrats in 1912. Many of the important reforms Bryan had urged over his unsuccessful career were enacted into law. Of course in the interval, Bryan’s party had turned to a new leader: a former president of Princeton University and author of an outstanding work of political science.
The professor won what had eluded the preacher, in part because unlike the preacher, he did not look obviously unequal to the job.
“despised only by a small coterie of sherry-drinking snobs.”
I’ll wait for a confirmation on this view point from someone who’s not in that small coterie of sherry-drinking snobs.
Anyone for some claret and brie?
“He can’t get over the fact that he is so smart and that she is not him,”
This is indeed the inner rage of the elitists.
Most of the people in politics are quite frankly lightweights in the brains department.
The policy wonks cant quite get how their great ideas get snubbed while idiots run the country. Maybe that’s ok because the smart people are needed to do the *real* work, like create inventions and run businesses. But the elitists see it as so *wrong* that they dont get to run things since they are so smart and have all the answers.
The one answer/quality they lack: Humility.
Of course we live in a country where our leaders are chosen by elections and not GRE or SAT tests. Perhaps we should choose the latter method in some form... China did it, and perfected dynasties of bureaucratic marvels. Not good for freedom and prosperity or even innovation, but ... ‘everyone had their place’.
Personal note: My IQ is higher than Palin’s, Obama’s, Biden’s, GWB’s and probably even that smartypants Clinton. There has been more than one time when I just want to throw my shoes at the TV set over the stupidity of some politician. But it is folly to worship intellect - a good tool, but a bad master.
“If Sarah Palin’s soooo unpopular and soooo unelectable... why bother writing an article about her?”
Uh, a divisive figure can still be important.
Frankly, though, the timing is suspicious. The person who nailed the coffin shut on Presidential ambitions in 2012 is Newt Gingrich. I was prepared to support Newt in 2008 due to the paucity of the field. But he blew the NY-23 call SO BADLY and so publicly (which was really unnecessary for him) he’s a totally non-credible candidate.
So why not a column on how Newt will never be President?
As is Romney for 2012, he’s become a Lamar Alexander-level extraneous non-officeholder.
Who does that leave? If not Palin, then Mitch Daniel, Jindhal ... while I like Barbour, he’s another ‘never be President’ just due to accent alone (kind of a GOP version of Kerry, easy for other side to charicature him).
Palin has a ‘gravitas gap’ to overcome, but, gee, so do any other contenders.
“Bryan was more of a Mike Huckabee - a Christian populist nanny-statist. “
They are both fundamentalist preachers from rural areas.
Yup.
David, please explain, how did Palin make herself "culturally obnoxious?"
By not aborting a Down Syndrome baby? By salmon fishing? Hunting? Wearing a red leather jacket? Being better-looking than your wife? By attacking the corrupt power structure in Alaska?
David who?
Correct. He is a Canadian.
Because your friends told them so media boy. Even though she's more qualified than the **cker you ran for President
BTW Frum, WJ Bryan was a commie and he was WRONG about the gold standard. Bryan has "some good ideas" is the David Frum fantasy.
Nov. 2009, - Obama, Pelosi, and Co. are trying to take over the auto-industry, the banks, the entire health care industry, ect... and these leftist idiots like Frumm are spending their time running around attacking Sarah Palin and Rush Limbaugh.
As someone who has actually worked alongside Sarah Palin, here’s my wild guess - she has set her sights on more important things, and when those thingts are accomplished, her polling numbers right now will seem nostalgic. Palin has a lot of tread on those tires, and there’s more ways to influence the electorate than being president.
Although having seen her up close I’d have to say she’d make a fine executive. The fantasy is that she’s unqualified.
Frum is a dyed in wool IDIOT!! The man can’t help himself. I’m embarassed to say that he’s a Canadian. CO
You should have seen his mother, Barbara Frum. She sounded like a total chain smoker with a deep gravelly voice. Her rhetoric was totally lieberal and she had a face with so many wrinkles you could have stored a bowl of rice in them. Me thinks he is his mothers son.!! He, attempting to represent the GOP is rediculous. CO
Yes he is obsessed with Sarah and it appears to be very unhealthy. Hmmmmm??? CO
Uh Sarah Palin is no loser nor is she a person who doesn’t respect the Constitution. The rest of them - absolutely. SHE was the ONLY good thing the right had going for them. McLame was an absolute bomb as usual. CO
I agree with your numbers Candor 7. Frum can fudge all he wants. That is what he does for a living anyway. He is a complete nothing!! CO
LOL Hey we don’t want the puke back. You keep him. He can join team Obamageddon! We are trying to clean house here dontchya know? CO
Rich, he’s an Ontario lieberal A$$hole. Trying to make himself into a “Republican” or “Conservative” is well, just amusing. His mother was a very looooooong time liberal journalist with the Liberal owned CBC. What a deep voiced, gravel voiced, wrinkled up prune the old gal was. A liberal hack till the day she died. That IS his mentorship. The rest of this stuff is BS in my view. CO
He is a Canadian, but we Canadian Conservatives, don’t like to admit that. We can’t stand him. OR that absolute freak, Bill Maher. Maher, would make the devil puke. CO
It is her religion that bugs Frum. Its amazing how those who would detect the hostility in a New York minute if it were directed at their faith, do realize Christians see it when its directed at them. Just because Christians shrug it off doesn’t mean they don’t see it Mr. Frum.
As oppposed to the overqualified Obama?
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