Posted on 07/02/2009 9:30:03 PM PDT by 2ndDivisionVet
Sounds far-fetched and, to some, totally implausible. But the Republicans are losing potential candidates at a pace that is downright alarming if you believe in a healthy two-party system. The demise of John Ensign’s political career a few weeks ago and the surreal downfall of Mark Sanford last week is enough to send chills through the even the most optimistic Republican strategist. We know that of the 2008 crop, only Mitt Romney seems likely to stay on as a contender. The old stalwarts like Newt Gingrich may get a lot of press, but it is unlikely they can mount a real challenge to Obama in 2012. Yet, the presidential election of 2012 will be more than a simple coronation of Barack Obama if the economy stalls and there is no progress in two important areas: national security and healthcare.
Ballooning deficits and a sluggish economy could alter the mood of America by the time the 2010 mid-terms come up, giving hope to the GOP for the next presidential primary season. This is why Sarah Palin is maintaining a persistent media presence, whether it is debating David Letterman or being the biggest Republican draw on the lecture circuit. She clearly has her eyes set on the presidency.
The latest edition of Vanity Fair brings this possibility forward, though not in a favourable light. Journalist Todd Purdhom paints a picture of a woman with a narcissistic personality, who’s short on knowledge, disinterested in policy discussion, and not ready for primetime. In the end, the story says more about John McCain’s competence and character than it does about Palin, simply because he flubbed his most important decision as a presidential candidate. That said, Palin brought much needed energy to an otherwise lackluster campaign and, to this day, she energizes the base as no other candidate can. Could it be possible she may someday be a candidate for the presidency?
My experience tells me that no one should be written off in a hypothetical context. Barack Obama is proof positive of this. I still maintain that, without Bush, there is no Obama nomination. Palin is a street smart politician who has benefited from being underestimated most of her career. McCain’s disastrous choice may have been fatal to his electoral chances, but it brought Palin to the forefront of national attention. Since then, she has become a celebrity that transcends her party. However, if she is to be taken seriously and considered a viable contender, she needs to change the negative perceptions of her and develop a political profile that appeals to those outside her narrow base.
To do this, she must gradually reduce her exposure and begin to educate herself on the issues. She will not be ready for 2012 by remaining governor of Alaska and playing the celebrity. The GOP has too proud a tradition to have a re-run of the 2008 vice-presidential candidate. Also, the base Palin relies on for support no longer holds the sway it once did. Social conservatism is losing steam as a political movement thanks to the dubious habits of people like Gingrich, Ensign and Sanford, and the election of an African-American president as well as the increased attention paid to gay rights issues shows that Americans have begun to cast their old divisions aside. The future for the GOP lies with fiscal conservatism and strong national security policy—not with turning back the clock. Palin must embrace the values that created the Republican party in the first place—a belief in the individual, a belief in a limited role for the state, and a commitment to equality. The party of Lincoln, Teddy Roosevelt, Eisenhower, and (the pragmatic version of) Reagan is the path to a Republican resurgence. Palin is nowhere on that radar. She is all about celebrity status and controversy.
In the lead-up to July 4, Americans usually reflect on their great democracy. Overall, it is healthy and has shown resilience through the decades. But the Republicans have to become a viable alternative for this democracy to remain vibrant. So is Palin a real possibility for 2012 or 2016? Will she someday be a formal candidate for the presidency? Most definitely. But can she ever win? Based on what we have observed so far, I would say definitely not, though politics has been known to produce some strange developments.
A RINO running against him...conservatives who stayed home because of it....white guilt....LOTS of white guilt...(I think we are over that now...) fence sitters tired of the status quo....etc etc etc....
Clean family life, is that code for something.
There is one Jesus, You won’t find another
Yes, most would not endure that on their day off with no true interest in the candidate.... that or they were there with the "Barky" protestors LOL!!!
I guess one could people watch and laugh at all the Sarah supporters by attending as a protester.
A big Bingo!
uh....it was Obama vs McCain....
He did not deny his love for a woman; some of the released emails reminded me of Song of Solomon in a way. And he never tried to trash her to save his skin. Even in his embarrasment and shame he was a gentleman. A heterosexual. A mortal human being.
Some are sickened and I can't criticize their judgement, but I would be proud to be his freind, were I so honored. If he were my Senator I would still support him.
And our country calls itself conservative by a 40% to 22% margin, so your analogy is fatally flawed.Yeah, and 40% is about what Palin would get in a rematch against 0bama. That's about right historically for this type of rematch.
I would vote for Sarah if she were the nominee for 2012, but I truly believe she wouldn’t win. It’s as simple as that. I want fresh blood. I’ve seen John Thune in action and he wouldn’t give the press the ammunition that Sarah has given.
I want to WIN. I don’t think Sarah can do that. They’re are too many lazy people in America today who want government handouts. In economic crisis they vote for Democrats. It’s why FDR had four terms. When people get scared about the economy they vote Democrat. When people are scared about foreign policy issues like terrorism they vote Republican.
Like I’m going to take your advice over the excellent political and patriotic instincts of thousands of Freepers, including myself.
NOT.
Your slam on Sarah Palin is a wholly unsupported ad hominem attack. She is imminently qualified to assume the office of president. Much more so, than anyone else who ran for the office this last election cycle.
blaking out in interviews, your stuck in the DU talking points.
Get John Zigler’s Media Malpractice which documents the editing, and other crap that went on with those interviews.
Just give Barry more time to totally screw us all over... and did you not see the Gallup poll with moderates dropping along with liberals and conservatives gaining numbers?
I’ve been paying attention to politics for many years. I have a record on this website of predicting what the presidency of George Bush would look like, written in posts from 1999 to 2000, that turned out to be scarily correct. Unfortunately, he got the nomination anyway, and as it ended up I had to vote for him, both in 2000 and 2004. However, I read his character, his strengths and weaknesses, correctly in 1999, and my reading was that, although he was a nice enough fellow, he was unqualified for the intellectual challenges of the presidency. I was right, and his failed presidency is the proof.
Palin is less qualified than Bush was, far less.
It may give you satisfaction to pretend that only “kool-aid drinkers” and “dupes” would find fault with Sarah Palin. Knock yourself out. But the reality is, Palin, because she doesn’t have Bush’s family tree, is not only far less qualified than he was, she’s also far less electable.
I’m not at all worried that she’ll make it to the White House, a luxury I didn’t have with George Bush. She has no shot whatsoever.
voter fraud is alive and well.
I’m just thinking there ought to be a ‘BARF ALERT’ with this #0R$E$#!T hit piece thinly disguised as “analysis”.
The writer could not think his way out of a wet paper sack; downing the viability of the gay rights/marriage issues for Conservatives - right on the heels of so many states passing ballot measures into law prohibiting the licensing or recognition of gay marriages - and those measures surviving the scrutiny of )activist liberal) State supreme courts...
This calls to mind an image of a boxer on the mat with two black eyes and a bloody broken nose, slurring out “ D’you give up yet?”
And so the GOP should abandon all hope of anything other than an appeal to a “narrow base” on the basis of issues of social conservatism...?!
ROTFLM*AO!!
Please - nobody write to these idiots to point out their errors to them - it will be so much sweeter to see the surprised looks of unexpected defeat on their faces!
A.A.C.
It is foolish to think it will be the same outside the McCain constraints....
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