PPP poll: Sarah Palin’s favorability higher among Republicans than Romney’s or Santorum’s

Granted, her ratings have always been solid among Republicans. And granted, comparing the favorability of someone who isn’t running to the favorability of two candidates who have been tearing each other’s throats out every day for months is apples and oranges. Even so, Ian Lazaran at Conservatives4Palin makes a fair point: As a Not Romney with appeal to evangelical and non-evangelical conservatives alike, she probably could have given Mitt more of a run for his money than Santorum has.

Santorum’s favorables split at a healthy 59/30, but among evangelicals it’s 73/16 versus just 46/43 among non-evangelicals. Palin’s numbers for comparison:

She also tops Santorum among tea partiers and non-tea partiers alike, although their numbers among the latter group are close enough that I assume the Romney Death Star could have blasted hers down to a comparable level with sustained attacks. For Santorum, the split is 74/18 among TPers, 50/41 among non-TPers, and 54/20 among those who aren’t sure. Palin:

Here’s the one data set I can’t explain, though. “Very” and “somewhat conservative” make sense, but what’s up with liberal Republicans? I thought the David Frum wing of the party loathes Palin:

A higher favorable rating among “very liberal” GOPers than “somewhat conservative” ones? Either the sample of liberal Republicans is very small, which means a very high margin of error, or else she’s rebounded somehow with more left-ish members of the party. Any theories on what’s driving that?

Needless to say, the big caveat to the “what might have been” hypothetical in which Palin runs and does better against Romney than Santorum has is that a more effective centrist than Romney could have run also and possibly locked up the nomination no matter who was running to his/her right. Maybe we’ll do a few posts on various hypotheticals this summer — A vs. B, C vs. D — to cheer you up when Romney finally locks things up and the laments begin. Exit question: Does Steve Schmidt opine on any subject anymore except vetting procedures for Republican VP candidates? Good lord, man. Pull yourself together.

The viciousness against Gov. Palin and her children
began with MITT ROMNEY the GOP's Official RomneyCARE-Backstabber.

FLASHBACK:

The McCain/Palin ticket was up ++4 to 10 pts
in some polls, days prior to Election 2008.
So rather than helping the GOP, Romney and
TeamROMNEY and the RNME (Republican National Media Establishment)
decided …to attack Gov. Palin to throw Election2008.

Romney, and the Van der Sloot RNME RINOs for Obama in 2008

Late in October, The American Spectator's The Prowler revealed:
"Former Mitt Romney presidential campaign staffers…
have been involved in spreading anti-Palin spin to reporters, seeking to diminish her standing after the election.
'Sarah Palin is a lightweight, she won't be the first, not even the third, person people will think of when it comes to 2012,'
says one former Romney aide…
'The only serious candidate ready to challenge to lead the Republican Party is Mitt Romney.
"Some former Romney aides were behind the recent leaks to media, including CNN, that Governor Sarah Palin was a 'diva' and was going off message intentionally."

The Palmetto Scoop reported: "One of the first stories to hit the national airwaves was
the claim of a major internal strife between close McCain aides and the folks handling his running mate Sarah Palin."
"I’m told by very good sources that this was indeed the case and that a rift had developed, but it was between Palin’s people and the staffers brought on from the failed presidential campaign of former Gov. Mitt Romney, not McCain aides."
"The sources said nearly 80 percent of Romney’s former staff was absorbed by McCain and these individuals were responsible for what amounts to a premeditated, last-minute sabotage of Palin."
… aides loyal to Romney inside the McCain campaign, said The Scoop, reportedly saw
that Palin would be a serious contender for the Republican nomination in 2012 or 2016, which made her a threat to another presidential quest by Romney.

"These staffers are now out trying to finish her off ….hoping it would ingratiate themselves with Mitt Romney."

"Who's the Palin Leaker from the McCain Campaign?
National Review Online The publication of a Vanity Fair profile of Sarah Palin
appears to have opened old wounds in the McCain campaign.
... the source of the “Diva” leak was Nicolle Wallace’s husband."

"Peeking Out From the McCain Wreckage: Mitt Romney"

"Someone's got to say it: IS MITT ROMNEY RESPONSIBLE FOR OBAMA'S VICTORY?"

"Vanity: Team Romney Sabotaged Palin and Continuing to Do So?"

"Romney Supporters Trashing Palin"

"Romney advisors sniping at Palin?"

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