Posted on 05/16/2009 6:00:44 PM PDT by Maelstorm
Everyone is piling on Sarah Palin, even though she will never be president of the United States.
The Alaska governor is everyone's favorite foil, from the left-wing Huffington Post to the ever-posturing Mitt Romney. John McCain, the Republican presidential nominee who cynically chose her as his running mate, now snubs her with relish.
They all act like she has a real chance to win the White House, when they all know the truth. When it comes to being taken seriously by the general electorate as a potential president, it's as over for her as it was for Dan Quayle.
Quayle was doomed even after he served as vice president. He was the heartbeat away from the first President Bush, but could never overcome the perception that he lacked gravitas.
Palin only ran for vice president; she never made it from Wasilla to Washington. And her problem is bigger than Quayle's, because it extends to her family.
From the moment Palin appeared on the national scene as a surprise pick for vice president, her family attracted critical attention. Palin had to fight off Internet-spawned rumors that her youngest child, Trig, who was born with Down syndrome, was really her daughter's. Then came the real news. Bristol Palin, her 17-year-old daughter, was unwed and pregnant, despite her mother's abstinence-only platform.
Palin weathered those headlines and others about her snowmobiling husband, Todd. As the campaign moved forward, she was undercut more by her own performance in a series of nationally televised interviews.
She was a major turnoff to the very voters she was supposed to attract — Hillary Rodham Clinton's female supporters.
Palin is still extremely popular with the hard-core conservative base and was recently named to the National Council for a New America, a group aimed at rebranding the GOP. Palin made Time magazine's list of influential people, causing Romney to crack: "But was that the issue on the most beautiful people or the most influential people?"
Romney is smarter and more accomplished than Palin, and just as good-looking. But Palin has something he lacks: a core set of unwavering conservative principles. It gives her an early advantage with Republican primary voters.
Palin faces an ongoing family soap opera that continues to undercut her political message. Bristol Palin broke up with Levi Johnston, the father of their child.
The line Palin walks as a mother of five and new grandmother continues to trip her up as a presidential candidate.
That makes her an easy target for Democrats and Republicans, who enjoy running against her.
Joan Vennochi writes for the Boston Globe. Her e-mail address is vennochi@globe.com.
Hmmmmm.....I’m starting to think Big Media is a little biased.
I’ll go one more...for a national stage, she needs to move away from Alaska and run for Governor of Texas or Florida...major state governor would be a fantastic springboard...magritte
The writer of the article didn’t take into account a number of things as many GOP handicappers are not. First and foremost the GOP electorate of 2008 won’t be the same in 2012.
How will those who have reached age 18 between Dec ‘08 and primary time 2012 vote? How will those young ladies vote that were too young in ‘08?
How will disaffected Obama voters/Dems vote in ‘12? How about sorely disappointed Hillary voters? As the poll numbers rise among pro-lifers who will they line up behind?
Personally, Palin is the only GOPer who will motivate me to move from independent to the GOP to vote for her in my state’s primary in 2012.
You make a good point and I’ve been pointing out that it isn’t that the Democrats have gained ground in party affiliation as Republicans have increasingly shifted into the Independent column. Even the recent poll on whether the GOP is leaderless or not a huge number 37% say yes and I’m betting the majority of them are social/fiscal conservatives.
Obama is, according to most bogus polls somewhere between 68-59 %. Realistically he’s good come election time for about 55% or less. The excitement that Sarah will bring to the GOP primary season alone will shift about 3 to 5% of his wobbly/fadish supporters to the latest trendy thing (Cuda-mania).
But serious voters like yourself and me know that the person to take back the White House must be dead serious about taking back the country.
That person must be able to not only articulate conservative philosophy, but also articulate policy, demostrate executive experience and above all (politically speaking) motivate/electrify huge swaths of the American electorate in a “Tea Party-like” revoly against the Wahington status quo.
Okay, that having been said, who fits that bill on all fronts? Who already has a massive movement in place ready to take marching orders?
What GOPer can bring Hillary Dems, Libertarians, conservative Gopers, religious voters, feminists, a few moderates and the military ranks together to confront Obama’s minions in 2012?
I’ll give you one guess-—he’s a she and her nickname is The Cuda!
I hope she gets involved in the 2010 race to point out the RINO’s she thinks should lose IN THE PRIMARIES
She will have her own primary to contend with and then state election that she will have to be paying attention too.
Personally I think Romney is better off and best used in a position where he can solve problems. It’s what he does best. Politics? Of the nature required by the presidency? Not so much.
He gave it a shot for 2 years in Mass but we are so liberal we’re probably the most dysfunctional state in the union.
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