Posted on 05/19/2011 7:15:48 PM PDT by SeekAndFind
Jimmy Carter never said “malaise,” Humphrey Bogart never said, “play it again Sam,” and Sarah Palin never said, “I can see Russia from my front porch.” But most people are convinced they did. As Yogi Berra quipped, “I never said most of the things I said.”
The caricaturing of Palin has led many political observers to cavalierly dismiss her chances of entering the 2012 GOP field — and winning. My question is…why?
At least one pundit sees the opportunity. Appearing on MSNBC’s “Andrea Mitchell” show Monday, Time magazine’s Mark Halperin noted that Mike Huckabee’s decision to skip the 2012 GOP primary, “leaves a big hole for Sarah Palin who can come in and take over that space that Huckabee left.”
A new Gallup poll seems to confirm his analysis. As The Washington Post’s Chris Cillizza writes,
the field remains decidedly muddled with no clear frontrunner. (Gallup doled out the past support for Huckabee/Trump based on the second place preferences of those voters.) Former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney takes 20 percent to 18 percent for former Alaska governor Sarah Palin …
Putting this in context, we now know that: 1). Mike Huckabee, a populist social conservative who won Iowa in 2008, isn’t running, and 2). Gallup has Sarah Palin in second place — just two points behind Mitt Romney. It is frankly stunning that — this late in the game — Palin still has a golden opportunity to win the nomination. (We also know, as the polling implies, the weak GOP field lacks a clear front runner to rally behind.)
And yet…conventional wisdom seems to hold that Palin will not run — and even if she does — she can’t win. The assumption is that Palin isn’t serious enough. Once again, I think she is being underestimated.
These assumptions continue to inform the way news stories about Palin are framed. For example, media observers recently began noticing that Palin wasn’t garnering quite as much press attention as before. This was largely portrayed as a sign that her influence may finally be waning — but was that necessarily the right conclusion?
Controversy often generates attention, and while the media were busy covering Donald Trump’s ridiculous antics this spring, Palin was delivering serious speeches in places like Wisconsin – and visiting vitally important nations like Israel and India. This was under-reported.
Also worth noting is that Palin was recently the “star” guest at Tammy Haddad’s garden brunch (for those outside the Beltway, this is the “who’s who” gathering of political insiders and muckety-mucks, held annually to coincide with the White House Correspondents Dinner). Palin’s attendance was reminiscent of another outsider, Ronald Reagan, who railed against DC elites, but attended dinner parties at Washington Post publisher Kay Graham’s house. The old Palin would probably not have attended this “lamestream” media event – the new Palin did.
Of course, it’s too early to know whether any of this foreshadows a presidential run, but consider this: If Palin were serious about running for president, isn’t buttressing her foreign policy credentials by traveling and building bridges with at least some media elites — precisely what she ought to be doing? Keep in mind, going back to Alaska, she has never run a conventional campaign — she always started late and was the underdog. And the good news for Palin is that she has more room for reinvention and growth than most people might realize.
Her supporters raise a good point when they argue she is “the most known, unknown” figure in politics. What they mean is that, despite how ubiquitous she became, she never really had a chance to craft her own image. (During the campaign, Palin was second to Sen. John McCain and, by necessity, had to adopt his campaign’s policies. And by the time the campaign ended, the media had already created the next iteration of the Palin brand.)
Don’t discount the possibility that Palin may indeed be on the verge of launching her second (or is it third?) act. It is entirely plausible to believe that Palin could seize this opportunity, win Iowa and South Carolina, and then make a real run for it. Don’t be surprised if she runs for president, and if she does, she can win.
I was right. You are an imbecile. Not just because of the potentially happenstance misapplication of the (lack of) contraction, but because even when I give you a roadmap to your blatant error, your pervasive stupidity prevents you from being able to see it and acknowledge your obvious mistake, not to mention your obvious better.
It really is far better to be silent and thought a fool, than to open your mouth and stink the place up with your putrefacted cranial gas. You, sir, have been pwned. LMAO!!!
N'kay? There's a good tool. Why is it that your apparent barely-functional idiot I.Q. seems to pop up rather frequently among the PDS crowd? Could it be an indicative pattern...?
8^D
Take it up with the boss...
Kinda like Red Sox & Patriot fans.
Like THIS man?
A very important fact that all of these handwringers and naysayers have not considered in their impatience.
Well said!
“A very important fact that all of these handwringers and naysayers have not considered in their impatience.”
Or didn’t know about until this thread. Not all of us spend our lives wrapped up in everything Sarah.
I agree with everything you said!!! However we are going to see I believe a real push for Michelle Bachmann by the NYTIMES/MSM/FOX/POLLSTERS over the next few months prior to Sarah entering the race.
I believe this will start very soon if it has not started already. The goal of all the MSM I mentioned is to try and push MB above Palin in popularity. This is their main goal in life I believe.
I just hope people do not buy into it, because MB is not up to the task, and quite frankly she is annoying me.
So the MB push has begun,mostly pushed by the MSM. I think that MB loses her credibility just by the fact that she thinks she could run against Sarah Palin and win, the idea that she would even consider running against Sarah at all, shows me she is made of the wrong stuff.
Yes she has the right to win, no question about it, just as the Muslims have a right to build a mosque at ground zero...HEAVY SARCASM
But none of you ever ask...you just assume and demand. I know I've posted this fact, along with this article explaining the FEC minefield, numerous times, but the blinders remain on.
Well this is the first I’ve heard of it. I will be patient. I hope she still decides to run when she can.
Yes. She can.
Stop drinking the bong water.
Wow... You are really hitting ALL of the Democrat talking points on this thread aren’t you...
Poor baby...
Well said!
You’re confusing the statement I was replying to with my own statement.
You guys need to come up with an alternative to the conservatives-are-stupid argument. It’s getting stale.
That is precisely what's going to happen. She's going to be so incognito and sub-rosa that the entire heads-up-their-creases Left and denial-drenched GOPDS'ers will suddenly look around, realize that she's gone from 'not on the radar' to 'walking away with it all,' and they'll be in shock.
The imbeciles who have, over the past couple decades, underestimated this force of nature's political chops are a pile of political corpses which she has danced upon with spiked heels and a smile. A winning smile, if I do say so.
Her biggest asset in the run-up to the primary is how many of these numb-nuts actually think she's a dolt. It's virtually impossible to defend yourself against an adversary which you misjudge that badly.
This will be some of the finest political viewing in all of history. Lincoln-Douglass? A snoozefest by comparison. Count on the Dimbeciles going projectile nuclear vileness once they realize their error. The sheer ugliness of their assault will turn off 90-95% of the voters.
They are their own worst enema. They're gonna give it to themselves right up the pooper.
"Dimbeciles Are Their Own Worst Enema."
LMAO!!!
8^D
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