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.
Perhaps. But I know for a fact that the majority of people in the world are not like those of us on Free Republic. They really don’t give a hoot in heck about politics. Go ask them the name of the current vice president of the United States and they’ll stare at you blankly. :)
You are heavily involved in bringing down our most popular candidate which bumps Romney but you don’t have any opinions yet on the question?
I agree with you there.
I guess that's why Jimmy Carter beat Reagan in 1980, eh?
And, something about what you said reminds me of a slogan I remember from somewhere..... oh yeah, it was, "It's the economy, stupid!"
They pay you much to come on conservative forums and sow doubt? Just curious.
Let’s not forget the HATRED the libs and MSM have for Sarah Palin....that my friends is important...no one generates that kind of animosity on the right...I love that about her!!!
You have a very short troll posting history, it is easy to read, how did you feel about Giuliani early in the primaries, say early 2007?
It grates on me that Palin is such an ineffective messenger for the conservative cause.
She fumbles our football too often. I expect her to take the conservative argument and run with it, but instead she stumbles over some platitudes and drops the ball on the best points. If we’re going to hand off to someone, it needs to be someone that can run with our message all the way to the goal line.
I am in agreement with what Charles Krauthammer has said about her recently.
“I don’t know what debate you watched”
There was only one vice presidential debate. Thank God!
I thought Sarah began well but many of her responses soon felt like she had memorized from notes. Biden looked physically terrible but he did make some points against her especially on foreign policy. I didn’t agree with those points most of the time but he came off as more seasoned and professional than Sarah with her winking and “Say it ain’t so, Joe” aw shucks routine.
I don’t know that Romney is the best candidate.
I assume that more people will be running.
I do know that he would be a better candidate than Palin.
Still not convinced he’s the best the GOP has to offer, though.
Maybe you should take off the blinders and realize that the universe is much larger than Palin and Romney.
I remember saying that about Reagan....and couldn't get that picture of him with that monkey out of my mind...damaged goods...
You are leaving out relevant data. Carter was a failure, so he lost to Reagan. Reagan was a roaring success, so he beat Mondale. Stevenson was a blowhard phony who never read a book in his life, while Eisenhower was a war hero and a reasonable success as President. So what if the Democrats ran Stevenson twice?
Obama is already crashing and burning, and the left wing of the Republican Party is also crashing and burning. Palin’s popularity is increasing slowly.
There’s no “law” that rematches must turn out like the match. Ford could have beaten Carter in 1980, for instance.
That...is the accurate timeline whether one wants to accept it or not...
Here’s an answer for you. How would I ever know that? I’m not a fortune teller. I might fear that she will lose but I would work my tail off to make sure she didn’t lose.
Remember, after the republican convention, McCain was ahead of Obama. Then the TARP bailout crisis came up, McCain chose the RINO way, and he never recovered. His opportunity was gone.
Right now Obama appears to be hard to beat, yet we know that his actions so far have done more to hurt the American people than help them. We don’t know when any of these gigantic disasters of his are going to come crashing down on his head, so I can’t say that I “know” that 0bama will be given a second term. Who knows, maybe someone in Hawaii will turn up his real birth certificate or one of the other documents that prove he was a citizen of another country.
I’m not waiting for that to happen mind you. I just know it’s stupid to speculate what 0bama’s appeal will be this far out. And if Sarah is as scary as you say, just give her a break until closer to election time. Don’t come out four years early and try to tear down one of your own. That is just one of the most crass things imaginable. You are probably scaring away any real conservative who might come out and run.
But then again, helping conservatives isn’t their objective is it. Since the only candidates left standing will be those MSM supported RINOs. With Romney leading the pack. He is a devious little so and so isn’t he.
I would like to be wrong about the people who are so willing to trash Sarah Palin, but I don’t think I am.
You conveniently removed my second sentence from your response: When people have fear about foreign policy issues they vote Republican.
They voted for Reagan because they knew he was strong on defense and there was a big huge issue with the Iranian hostages going on.
*With girls it’s not as likely. There are too many options out there for girls other than politics*
What I thought, You don’t want to see a woman as President.
You are still in 1930.
Women are in politics and we will have a woman for President
Instead of trying to be like the one we run against, an exact opposite sounds like a good idea. Palin is Female, white, fiscally conservative, honest, beautiful, Christian, educated in America, born in America, has Christian parents, wants a strong America, never needs to lie, puts her hand over her heart when the national anthem is played, understands American values, cannot be bought, is not beholden to evil interests, never studied at a Muslim school, and you know she will always put America’s interests ahead of anything else.
Sarah Palin is the exact opposite of Barak Hussein Obama who bows to Saudi princes and who is doing everything possible to destroy America. Hundreds of thousands of people would everything possible to elect her to replace the monster in our White House.
http://web.israelinsider.com/Articles/Politics/12745.htm
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