Posted on 11/25/2010 9:10:56 AM PST by roses of sharon
I spent only a few hours with the former governor, helping to prepare her for the vice presidential debate in October 2008. And during that brief window, I saw Palin at one of her most vulnerable moments, when any result other than a complete train wreck seemed impossible. And yet I also saw a determined woman buckle down, recover her confidence and then storm the national stage where she more than held her own against a seven-term senator.
Did she face some tough slogging to reach her remarkable perch? Sure, you betcha. I admire her tenacity, her verve, her moxie, and her pluck. As she releases what’s sure to be another bestseller, America by Heart, I think it’s phenomenal how Palin has been able to leverage her moment in the spotlight. I marvel at her masterful manipulation of the media, and her ability to redirect the national debate with merely a tweet. Most of all, I like the way she defies conventional wisdom and does things her own way: She doesn’t retreat, she reloads. And without Palin and the Tea Party backing Republican candidates, I doubt the crimson tide would have risen so high Nov. 2.
Palin’s appeal completely befuddles metro-intellectuals. They scoff at her “experience,” holding the one-time city manager, mayor, oil and gas commission chair, governor, and vice presidential nominee to a different standard than candidate Obama. A marathon runner, mother of five, and grandmother to one, she has no qualms about smacking a slimy halibut—or an oil and gas company—upside the head. And don’t be fooled, underneath that “prom hair” is a brilliant populist.
Yet I find myself continually goaded into denigrating her, saying things like “she’s reached her sell-by date,” “her stock is going down,” and “if she’s smart, she won’t run for president.” And I was going to go on TV recently and say, “It’s rare you hear quantitative easing and Sarah Palin in the same sentence,” until I realized that she did a hell of a lot better job explaining the complex concept than I could.
Though she is rightfully suspicious of advice from outside Team Palin, and she certainly doesn't care what I think, it is my strong opinion that she should not run. Not just because I don’t agree with her positions or her politics, but because the coming political fight is about more than the future of Sarah Palin. It’s about the future of the country.
All the fun, the money, the power will only be diminished if she runs. Because I don’t care how you cut it, in the end she will lose.
President Obama’s approval rating is now just 39 percent, and he is statistically tied in a direct matchup with Palin according to a new Zogby poll. And according to Quinnipiac, American voters believe that Obama does not deserve a second term by a margin of 49 to 43 percent. But Palin is viewed unfavorable by 51 percent of voters. And among independents, the key swing voting bloc, her negative is at 54 percent. She is not the right candidate right now.
Framing the presidential contest ahead, Mona Charen put it well: “Voters chose a novice with plenty of star power in 2008 and will be inclined to swing strongly in the other direction in 2012. Americans will be looking for sober competence, managerial skill, and maturity, not sizzle and flash.”
If Palin runs, I think the entire Republican primary process will be hijacked. With ardent fans and a rabid media, it will become Palin-palooza. A celebrity fest will follow with even more amplitude than the adulation and adoration that surrounded Barack Obama, who was so revered he was sometimes referred to in biblical proportions as “The One.” An all-consuming super nova, Palin will suck the oxygen out of every room, everywhere she goes. And one of two things will happen. Discerning conservative voters in early primary states will be offended by the circus-like atmosphere and the presumption that they could so easily fall for a “cult of personality.” And they will vote against her. And she will lose. Or, Republican voters will be completely swept up in the mania and nominate her as the GOP standard bearer to go up against President Obama. And she will lose—perhaps the only Republican nominee who could lose in 2012.
But I also think she shouldn’t run for her sake. How could life get any better? She has more power, money, control, and influence than she could have ever possibly imagined. Two bestselling books, almost 2.5 million Facebook fans, a record-breaking cable TV show, and a daughter who made it to the finals on another TV show—not because of her abilities, but because she’s Sarah Palin’s daughter, and by god, the Palinistas out there defiantly come to her rescue week after week.
Palin is having fun. She decided governing Alaska was, well, just a pain. Too much work. A hassle. Whatever. Next. There I go again, denigrating. See, it’s just a reflex. It’s easy to discount her accomplishments, and to ignore the ludicrous opposition Palin faced in the courts and in the press on her return to office from the campaign trail. But my point is, all the fun, the money, the power will only be diminished if she runs. Because, I don’t care how you cut it, in the end she will lose. She is just too polarizing a figure at this point in her career to win a general election. And if the Republicans lose to a weakened President Obama, she will forever be blamed for snatching defeat from the jaws of victory.
But I know how these things go. First of all, as James Carville said, running for president is like sex. Once you’ve done it, it’s hard to stop. Second, once the drum beat starts, and all your friends and admirers start telling you, “For the sake of the Republic, it’s your duty to run,” it’s awfully hard not to let your ego get filled with a lot of helium. Next thing you know, you’re shivering at a diner in January in Iowa.
I know there are millions of conservative women and young grizzlettes out there who admire Sarah Palin. She inspires them; she is them. They know that beneath the sequined lapel pin roars the heart of a Mama Grizzly wronged. And they are offended when elites, the media, and smart asses like me dismiss her infectious optimism, her pitch-fork populism, and her love of family, faith and the flag.
In my view, it would have been interesting to see what would have happened to her as a political figure had she not been plucked too soon from obscurity, if she had been allowed to ripen on the vine for a couple of terms as governor of Alaska before emerging on the national scene. Alas, she was thrown onto the rocket sled of celebrity and has ridden to heights never before seen.
And if Palin doesn't run for the top slot, she will very likely be on the short list again for vice president. Or certainly for a cabinet slot if the Republicans win.
Only one thing is for sure. Sarah Palin is going to be around for a very long time. She’s already had a few last laughs, and she’s likely to have a whole lot more before the closing credits roll. ’Cause life as America’s sweetheart—and siren for the left—is “flippin’ fun.”
No matter what happens, whether she runs for president or not, Palin is going to be Pot Stirrer-in-Chief.
Sheesh, we're 2 years away from the election!
I'm a huge Sarah fan and I put my money where my mouth is. I also think it reasonable to listen to the other sides of the debate. She does have things to overcome, chiefly the perception intentionally created by the media AND the establishment GOP that she isn't up to the job. Unfortunately the people who bought into the fraud that Obama is up to the job are often the same ones who can't think their way out of a box and don't realize they've been had by the media where Sarah is concerned.
The establishment on both sides - with billions of dollars at stake - will not let us take back our government without a HUGE fight and at this point they are on notice and very worried. If/when we take our government back a lot of inflated heads will roll.
You know what I like best about Romney? He’s not a war hero! So there’s NO excuse to vote for him. :)
Seriously, how good a politician can he be, if McCain beat him in spite of all the $$ and relative youth and a Colgate smile? He still came off badly.
If he runs against Palin in the 2012 primaries, she will have him strapped to the roof of her car in the first ten minutes of debate. As long as people watch it rather than read about it, he’s doomed.
Have you bumped into her yet in the FNC green rooms? It would be very insightful to have a LS/SP interview here on FR.
Mona Charen has a bedspread with an image of Romney on it. With matching pillow shams.
YUCK!
It would be nice if those were the only folks populating this board.
Surely you know that Free Republic has long attracted RINOs, blue blood Republican loyalists, liberal trolls, raving lunatics, Democrat operatives, squishy moderates, political dunderheads, as well as solid conservatives?
Sarah Palin enjoys overwhelming support among conservatives at Free Republic, but we're not the only ones who post here.
Barry Hussein Soetoro Obama is PROOF that Sarah Palin is not only qualified to be president, she is also a giant step up from what we have as a president now! Geeesh!That isn't saying much for Sarah Palin, calling her better than nothing. ;)
Another poster said her greatest skill was "community organiser." Somehow that doesn't seem to be a presidential quality. How's it working out with the former community organiser now known as His Excellency Al-Hashish Field Marshmallow Dr. Barack Obama Dada, COD, RIP, LSMFT, Would-Be Life President of the Republic Formerly Known as the United States, and Chairman of the Organisation of Halfrican Unity?
On the other hand, the fact that Mrs. Palin is a kind of community organiser suggests the job to which she is suited best---the next chair of the Republican National Committee.
I've said it elsewhere but it's worth repeating: If you paid very close attention to her doings on the 2010 campaign trails, disregard a mis- or mal-endorsement here and there and every step she took, every move she made, could be construed as a splendid audition for succeeding the dubious Mr. Steele. She has organisational skills to burn; she has a way of negotiating the political backrooms and backwaters; and, she has a positive nose for political horse flesh. Marry those to her ability---at least, not being an officially declared candidate herself---to stay on or within firm reach of message, and you have everything Steele is not but the GOP needs, and none too soon. She would make (will make?) a splendid RNC chair.
But if she is going to make a run for it in 2012, my own best suggestion to her would be what Barry Goldwater once said John F. Kennedy told him, in early 1963, when they did lunch and Kennedy was assuming Goldwater would be his 1964 opponent: Don't announce too soon, Barry. The minute you do, you become the target. You give them eighteen months to shoot you down, they'll do it. Mrs. Palin would be wise to follow that counsel and not make it official too soon. It's well before the eighteen-month frame Kennedy proffered Goldwater but they're already trying to shoot her down as it is.
One day you will probably eat those words, after first voting for her.
This is a subtle (but pathetic) way of repeating the line that usually goes something like this: "She quit as Governor of Alaska so she's surely not able to handle higher office". Then there's the laughable lament, "Alas!" Who does McKinnon think he's fooling?
Even a RINO president is better than ZERO. Our goal should be to beat ZERO, whether it takes a RINO or not.
78 posted on Thursday, November 25, 2010 1:05:46 PM by nwrep
Can we hold hand’s as we walk down the same old beaten trail?
Stop living in the past, and come up to present time, friend. This is the Tea Party era. There's no need to compromise with our principles any longer.
Sarah Palin 2012
LOL!
If two years out you are eager to defeat the conservative front runner for the nomination, in an effort to enhance the chances of a rino like Daniels, sitting at 2% in the back of the pack, then you do not belong anywhere near conservatives.
That is one of the stupidest excuses for promoting a liberal agenda that I have heard.
Mitch Daniels has already called for conservatives to surrender, NOW THAT IS BAGGAGE.
That is Governor Palin, she is heading for president, if you want somebody to run the RNC you don't look at the first tier of Presidential candidates, especially the conservative one.
I agree.
ahhh.. finally a refreshingly candid answer. You would rather have a RINO president who would implement the same policies that Obama and the Democrats are pushing only at a slightly slower pace? We are at a point that our country is at great risk - we can no longer afford two political parties that push the same failed centralized, bloated government. I would rather take a chance on Palin, knowing for certain that she has the backbone to stand up to the entrenched powers. Nothing will change with the RINO’s - NOTHING...
The 2012 election may be the last chance we have to correct the course we are on before our economy and our currency fail completely. Palin is the only person being talked about that I trust to do what is needed.
Because she needs more than red meat conservatives to show up and vote for her. The squishy middle is the prime target of the MSM's attacks on Sarah. They know that the hardened right isn't listening to them, and that we'll support Sarah no matter what they say.
A squish already has to overcome a lot of personal anxiety and doubt to cross over to the Republicans, after having given their vote to Obama. Listening to the MSM bash and belittle Sarah Palin day in and day out, does little to bolster their confidence in her as the correct nominee to face Obama.
The ruling class fears Sarah Palin, and will do everything in their power to keep her out of the White House. Their abject terror of her has been evident from the night she gave her acceptance speech in 2008. We're talking heaving, mouth-breathing hyperventilation and panic attacks here.
The MSM attacks on Sarah will continue, and will escalate, until she's either forced out of the race, or she's taking the oath of office from Chief Justice John Roberts.
I understand your reasoning, but it's too complex for reality, in my view. You're talking about the sort of reverse psychology and three dimensional chess that the left just isn't capable of.
Witness the historic blunder they made in going after Sarah Palin AFTER she'd lost the election. They actually CAUSED and ENABLED her to become the Godzilla of American politics, that she is today, by forcing her out of the Alaska Governor's office.
How's that for brilliance?
Friend, they simply aren't as bright as you imagine.
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