Carey Roberts basically writes a weekly column bashing Governor Palin.
http://www.renewamerica.com/columns/roberts
Posted on 03/22/2011 5:08:01 AM PDT by FreeManDC
Sarah Palin’s standing with the American public has undergone a stunning reversal of fortune, according to two recently released polls. Just two and a half years ago, Sarah Palin’s star was ascending to the political heavens. A solid 53% of Americans held a favorable opinion of Mrs. Palin, while only 28% had a negative view. But according to a March 3 Bloomberg News poll, only 28% of Americans now hold a positive view of the former Alaska governor, while a stunning 60% see her in an unfavorable light. And a March 16 Washington Post-ABC poll found Palin’s negative ratings fell to a nadir of 37% among Republicans and right-leaning independents. How do we explain this stunning reversal for the immensely ambitious political wunderkind? Following John McCain’s surprise selection of Palin on August 29, 2008, and her well-received acceptance speech at the Republican National Convention, she notched an impressive favorability rating of 53% as a virtual political unknown (all figures I cite are from the Gallup poll, unless otherwise noted). But as the campaign jolted toward the November election, stories began to circulate about a simmering discord between the McCain and Palin campaign staffs. “She is a diva. She takes no advice from anyone,” complained a top McCain adviser just days before the election. “Also, she is playing for her own future and sees herself as the next leader of the party.” Following the GOP’s sweeping losses on November 4, Palin’s favorability ratings still registered 48% — a respectable number, considering the predictable miscues of the grueling campaign. Soon shaking off the post-election blues, Palin’s first move was to establish SarahPAC, which would eventually raise $1 million for conservative candidates around the country. Throughout 2009, Palin’s favorability ratings cruised along in the acceptable low to mid 40s range. Palin’s heralded book Going Rogue came out on November 17. Even though the autobiography would eventually sell over 2 million copies, it also raised questions about the former candidate’s conservative credentials — even her character. Going Rogue highlights Palin’s endorsement of the controversial Title IX quota program. It reveals her predilection for gender-baiting clichés like “I’ve been living in a man’s world all my life.” The autobiography even suggests a mean streak. When then-boyfriend Todd told his friends that Sarah didn’t know how to kiss, Palin’s judgment was as harsh as it was swift: she “learned a lesson about guys that day: even the good ones can act like jerks.” As if women never gossip about their mates’ sexual prowess! Throughout the year Palin appeared at endless Tea Party rallies around the country. On February 6, 2010, Palin keynoted the inaugural Tea Party convention in Nashville, TN, cementing her position as the charismatic leader for the burgeoning movement. But in mid-2010, the apparently unstoppable train suddenly took a pro-feminist turn. During a May 15 speech at a Susan B. Anthony conference, Palin unveiled the term “Mama Grizzly,” and invoked the words “feminism” and “feminist” no less than a dozen times. This provoked predictable attacks from the NOW blowhards — and raised conservative eyebrows as well. Palin’s response was to accuse her critics, including her female detractors, of chauvinism — a stance that began to wear thin in the eyes of many. The cracks in Mrs. Palin’s formidable reputation began to show themselves in the Gallup poll taken after the November 2 elections. While she garnered a steady 40% favorability rating, for the first time ever her unfavorable numbers spiked to 52%. Perhaps the decisive turning point, though, was the day that Palin decided to take on Barbara Bush. First ladies occupy a revered spot in the American iconography, but apparently Palin was too tone-deaf to understand this. When the former first lady remarked that Palin might prefer to stay in Alaska rather than throw herself in the hurly-burly of national politics, Palin rebuked Mrs. Bush — and her family — as a group of elite “blue bloods.” Wrong move, Mrs. Palin. Then came her “blood libel” gaffe on January 12. And just last month, Palin insinuated former Pennsylvania Senator Rick Santorum was “Neanderthal.” Manhattan Institute scholar Heather Mac Donald has ridiculed the “feminist strain” of the Mama Grizzlies and notes that Palin “is living up to the most skeptical assessment of her.” But the real reason for her plummeting support is that many Americans are confused about who Sarah Palin is and what she really stands for. Is Mrs. Palin the tireless spokesperson for a recrudescent silent majority? Is she a have-it-all, do-it-all Super Mom? A dazzling, but ephemeral Media Maven? Or is she an old-school, quota-embracing, male-bashing feminist who also happens to be pro-life? Is she a shake-and-bake liberal whose political resumé includes support for the ill-fated bridge to nowhere and a record-breaking $6.6 billion state operating budget in 2007? Until Mrs. Palin takes steps to reconcile these apparent contradictions, these questions will continue to be grist for the political mill.
Nobody likes EVERYTHING any politician does.
For me it is immaterial anyway since I believe she has no chance so any nit-picking is purely academic.
No derangement here jackass, I just don’t have faith in her in the general elections.
This article has only two points:
1) Paragraphs are our friends
2) Sarah Palin is bad.
You’re exactly right. Which is also why she is going to run. She has been “itching” for this idealogical fight with Obama and his minions ever since McCain’s handlers made her shut up.
She won’t be silent much longer.
Not FOR anybody. I just don’t care for her style.
Around here, if you dare to criticize Palin, you are immediately branded as a Romney-bot.
You can’t pin that on me. I am pushing nobody because no candidate has distinguished hinself so far, IMHO.
Pound sand, you’re no better than a lib accusing someone of being racist for questioning Obama.
That is one of the most heinous ways to stifle free speech.
What are you the new pissant?
Dude - get some paragraphs.
One can hope that’s the case, but I’m not holding my breath, the American public isn’t known for it’s intelligence...
If this is true, I’ve found my candidate for 2012...
http://www.postandcourier.com/news/2011/mar/21/rand-paul-visits-charleston-tests-waters-president/
Good grief, he’s been in the Senate (his first public office, I believe) for what, 90 days?
I love him, but seriously. I wouldn’t even vote for my own bright new Senator, Mike Lee for president just yet. And we just love him, here!
Let’s see what happens with that.
He would liven up the process, if nothing else. He is tougher on budget cuts than anybody else I’ve heard.
It won't work, she fights back.
I know, I am pointing and laughing at your opinion, which is just my opinion...
She would never let herself be the abused wife, and her willingness to say flat-out that the abuser is the one who is wrong is what the media hates about her.
Who else would go to Israel and ask them why they keep apologizing to the Muslims? The world is supposed to bow to the Muslim overlords as Obama has been doing since day one. At least that is what the media and the Islamists’ communist allies (Soros et al) would have us all believe.
Sarah is a red-blooded American who loves justice. She is a threat to these cultists because she says the truth that everybody who has submitted to the cult is too afraid to even SEE. She won’t submit to the cult and that drives them CRAZY.
Man this is a tough read. How to structure a paragraph would be a fun class!
For what it is worth, I don’t know who else I could vote for in 12.
Yeah, sure. The fact that you felt compelled to use the term “jackass” is telling. All PDS types here are mostly the same, nothing new. Carry on.
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