Free Republic
Browse · Search
News/Activism
Topics · Post Article

Skip to comments.

The Unlikeable Palin
American Conservative ^ | 7/2/10 | Daniel Larison

Posted on 07/02/2010 6:07:54 PM PDT by pissant

Outside of Republicans, she’s not popular at all. According to our NBC/WSJ poll, just 29% view her favorably, compared with 43% who view her unfavorably (not far from George W. Bush’s 29%-50% score). In addition, the poll shows that 52% have problems with a candidate who has been endorsed by Palin, versus only 25% who are comfortable with that attribute. We’ve said it before and we’ll say it again: Palin is more of a political celebrity than a political figure. ~First Read

This is true, but there is nothing here about Palin that we know now that we didn’t already know a year or a year and a half ago. Her unfavorables among non-Republicans have gone up steadily since the Republican convention in 2008, and outside of a dedicated core of admirers and a few critics no one is taking her political chances seriously. This is the same as it has been for a very long time. As Josh Green notes, it would normally be absurd to think that someone with a 14-point favorability deficit was a serious presidential contender, and there aren’t that many non-partisans who think that she is anything of the kind. The reality is that the more independents and Democrats see of Palin, the less they like. In a country where these people make up at least 65% of the electorate, Palin is essentially unelectable in a general election. This isn’t a difficult call to make. The question to which we don’t know the answer yet is whether the GOP is so willfully blind to this reality and so bent on self-destruction in 2012 that the party nominates her anyway. For all of the reasons I have given before, I very much doubt that Republicans are this foolish. It is possible that the GOP will decide

(Excerpt) Read more at amconmag.com ...


TOPICS: Culture/Society; Editorial
KEYWORDS: anklebiters; duncanwho; eunomia4obama; fauxconservative; fauxgopwhine; neonaziwhine; obamathanksyou; onepercenters; operationleper; palin; pds; pimpromney; pimpromneyhere; pimpromneynow; pimpromneyplease; pissant; postpaidforbymitt; romney; romneyantipalin; usefulidiots; whenmittbotsattack
Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first previous 1-20 ... 61-8081-100101-120 ... 141-148 next last
To: Biblebelter
With the economy going to be the major issue of 2012, then Romney can sell himself as understanding private sector job creation which will be the buzz words of 2012.

His RINOism will sink him with the Tea Parties.

The meme 'Romneycare == Obamacare' will sink him with everyone else.

Cheers!

81 posted on 07/02/2010 9:05:02 PM PDT by grey_whiskers (The opinions are solely those of the author and are subject to change without notice.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 65 | View Replies]

To: JApost
Romney is probably the worst candidate in a couple of generations. He’s the 2nd generation of 4 generations of trust fund Americans(nothing against that but he’s never faced any economic hardships, he’s never really had to work for a living,by the sweat of his brow, probably never changed a flat tire or had callouses on his hands). Has he changed his mind about not agreeing with the Reagan economic policies of the ‘80’s and the value of tax cuts in spurring economic growth/job creation during Reagan era? I will spend tens of thousands to defeat him for what he has done to Sarah Palin and for him allowing/standing by as the establishment GOP beta-males/girls have attacked /denigrated her from Sept. 1, 2008 to the present.

And neither he nor any of his worthless offspring ever spent a day in the military.

82 posted on 07/02/2010 9:06:56 PM PDT by meadsjn (Sarah 2012, or sooner)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 78 | View Replies]

To: grey_whiskers

83 posted on 07/02/2010 9:07:18 PM PDT by onyx (Sarah/Michele 2012)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 79 | View Replies]

To: SQUID
You may start with her education

"We've had ENOUGH of pointy-headed Ivy League types, who don't know their @$$ from a hole in the ground. I understand where you're coming from: I had to work my way through college."

And then remind them of Reagan and Truman.

Nice try, though.

Where's *your* Ph.D. from, and in what subject, pray tell?

Cheerrs!

84 posted on 07/02/2010 9:08:04 PM PDT by grey_whiskers (The opinions are solely those of the author and are subject to change without notice.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 70 | View Replies]

To: Radix

Do the words Bobby Jindall come to mind? Hope that is his first name. I had a mental lapse. He is doing a terrific job in Louisiana. There isn’t a night go by that I don’t see him on the only news station worth watching. (FOX NEW NETWORK) He sounds like Ronald Reagan. A number of people I know feel the same way. Romney is great with numbers, but his health care in Mass. proves that he wanted government programs.


85 posted on 07/02/2010 9:08:41 PM PDT by jinglethosekeyes (The more we know, the worse we will be if BHO wins)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 26 | View Replies]

To: Radix

Do the words Bobby Jindall come to mind? Hope that is his first name. I had a mental lapse. He is doing a terrific job in Louisiana. There isn’t a night go by that I don’t see him on the only news station worth watching. (FOX NEW NETWORK) He sounds like Ronald Reagan. A number of people I know feel the same way. Romney is great with numbers, but his health care in Mass. proves that he wanted government programs.


86 posted on 07/02/2010 9:08:49 PM PDT by jinglethosekeyes (The more we know, the worse we will be if BHO wins)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 26 | View Replies]

To: jinglethosekeyes
Jindal is a good governor for LA, but ...

Jindal is not a Natural Born Citizen.

It didn't matter for Obama, because he is a commie Democrat.

If Jindal gets nominated, you'll see a 100% demand from Democrats for him to step aside because he is not a Natural Born Citizen. And all their homework has already been done.

87 posted on 07/02/2010 9:12:41 PM PDT by meadsjn (Sarah 2012, or sooner)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 85 | View Replies]

To: onyx
(Sound of grey_whiskers purring, then hissing)

You can't have Bachmann! She's all we Minnesotans have to live for! ;-)

Cheers!

88 posted on 07/02/2010 9:15:27 PM PDT by grey_whiskers (The opinions are solely those of the author and are subject to change without notice.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 83 | View Replies]

To: JApost

Be honest. Have you EVER heard Romney cogently explain how to create private sector jobs? I dare you to provide examples of him explaining how he specifically would do it from the dates of Nov. 2007 to the present. And then add up the jobs he eliminated/sent overseas and subtract this number from the jobs he “created” buying companies and cutting payrolls and report to us the answer. Romney is probably the worst candidate in a couple of generations. He’s the 2nd generation of 4 generations of trust fund Americans(nothing against that but he’s never faced any economic hardships, he’s never really had to work for a living,by the sweat of his brow, probably never changed a flat tire or had callouses on his hands). Has he changed his mind about not agreeing with the Reagan economic policies of the ‘80’s and the value of tax cuts in spurring economic growth/job creation during Reagan era? I will spend tens of thousands to defeat him for what he has done to Sarah Palin and for him allowing/standing by as the establishment GOP beta-males/girls have attacked /denigrated her from Sept. 1, 2008 to the present.

I am honest, it doesn’t matter a twit.

Baby Bush got credit for being business man because he was had a job with the Texas Rangers.

Baseball is not a business. The ass clowns in baseball have the anti-trust exemption.

Politics is full of charlatans like Baby Bush and Romney, not to mention the community organizer Barry who never worked a private sector job in his life or Al Gore who lost his “home state” of Tennessee because Tennessee was not really his home state as he was Washington, D C all the way.

Romney can be “marketed” as businessman not the he knows much more than any other politician of which either of these two corrupt parties are likely to put up.

Barry won because of the color his skin and his exotic name and they marketed that as “Change you can believe in”.

It is all about marketing and Romney can be marketed as a pro-business jobs creating candidate in a way that most of the most mentioned names cannot.


89 posted on 07/02/2010 9:17:59 PM PDT by Biblebelter
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 78 | View Replies]

To: pissant

When it comes to Sarah PAlin and the Left (even if that left has an R by their name) watch what they do......not what they say.


90 posted on 07/02/2010 9:19:13 PM PDT by fkabuckeyesrule (The important thing to remember is that Obama reads newspapers and isn't that whats important?)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: pissant
According to our NBC/WSJ poll, just 29% view her favorably, compared with 43% who view her unfavorably (not far from George W. Bush’s 29%-50% score).

I know it's tantamount ot "hating" to even ask this question, but have their been polls that disprove this one? Have their been polls that show Palin is popular outside of hardcore conservatives?

I don't think such evidence is necessary for someone to run, but it is a helpful indicator.

Are polls suspect because we don't like the results? If the WSJ starts publishing polls that show Palin doing well, will we start praising them?

In addition, the poll shows that 52% have problems with a candidate who has been endorsed by Palin

Now, for the other side of what I wrote above...

This indicates the problems with general polling. By this specific result, one could say "Ah, look, it's a bad thing that she backs a candidate!" (52% "have problems"? That's hardly damning. 48% don't? That can easily go the other way depending on the day of the week.)

Yet look at RESULTS. Palin backs a candidate, and he or she does well, at least in the primaries.

In November, it'll be hard to see what is the result of a Palin endorsement and what is just someone being sick and tired of what we have now. I think if Palin's candidates win, her supporters will say it's a win for Palin, but it may only be that anyone supporting the opposition to the Dems would look like they backed a winner.

The difference with Palin's numbers this far out from 2012 and Obama's, of course, is that Obama had nothing but positive celebrity-loving press from the MSM--his book resulted in completely uncritical love, and that was the initial tone of what casual observers got. One was primed to be positive about him, and most people do go with their gut.

Palin is a known quantity, and most of that is a result of MSM bashing, whether of the "There are no 'Death Panels'!" sort (no, there aren't things CALLED Death Panels, but in practice, she is 100% correct) that the MSM loves because they can toss it out and not have to explain, or some of Palin's own comments which folks decide all on their own they don't care for (I was shocked yesterday when a Palin fan who watches her appearances, read her book and thinks she's great said she doesn't think she has the knowledge to be president--she's not alone, and whether it's because of Couric or other propaganda, that's not going to help).

Polls are nice but they shouldn't impact someone's choice to run. A candidate can grow IN the campaign, and alter perceptions. But at the same time, we have to deal with reality--if the reality is that Palin can overcome these tremendously unfair slams against her, she deserves to win. If the reality is that she's so damaged by the unfair press that she can't win, what then?

91 posted on 07/02/2010 9:19:13 PM PDT by Darkwolf377 (Barack Obama, the Coleman Francis of presidents.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: grey_whiskers
You can't have Bachmann! She's all we Minnesotans have to live for! ;-)

If she gets to be VP, or Pres, I'll help you lobby to get Madison ceded to Canada.

92 posted on 07/02/2010 9:19:36 PM PDT by meadsjn (Sarah 2012, or sooner)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 88 | View Replies]

To: grey_whiskers

Sorry. Wrong state. How about the Twin Cities?


93 posted on 07/02/2010 9:21:13 PM PDT by meadsjn (Sarah 2012, or sooner)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 92 | View Replies]

To: grey_whiskers

LOL. I hear you, but, the two of them can save our Republic!


94 posted on 07/02/2010 9:21:33 PM PDT by onyx (Sarah/Michele 2012)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 88 | View Replies]

To: grey_whiskers

I’m a Firefox user and everytime I hit “reload” on my browser I think of SP. Hopefully the tens of millions of other users do to and it will subconsciously, hypnotically convert more voters to Palin’s side that were previously opposed to her. haha.


95 posted on 07/02/2010 9:24:04 PM PDT by JApost
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 79 | View Replies]

To: meadsjn
If she gets to be VP, or Pres, I'll help you lobby to get Madison ceded to Canada.

Not so fast, there.

Madison is in Wisconsin.

Cheers!

96 posted on 07/02/2010 9:26:36 PM PDT by grey_whiskers (The opinions are solely those of the author and are subject to change without notice.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 92 | View Replies]

To: PA Engineer

Wow, Sarah Palin doesn’t do well in a poll of mostly Democrats who mostly voted for Obama. Gee, what a shock.

F1b/c. A lot of people are unable to get out and vote for many reasons. Did you happen to vote in last November’s
election for president? (IF “YES,” ASK:) For whom did you vote––Barack Obama, John McCain, or
someone else?
Yes, Voted
Voted for Barack Obama ................ 40
Voted for John McCain ................... 33
Voted for someone else ................. 6
Not sure .......................................... 5
No, Did Not Vote ............................. 16
Not sure ........................................ -

Generally speaking, do you think of yourself as (ROTATE:) a Democrat, a Republican, an independent, or
something else? (IF “DEMOCRAT” OR “REPUBLICAN,” ASK:) Would you call yourself a strong
(Democrat/Republican) or not a very strong (Democrat/Republican)? (IF “NOT SURE,” CODE AS “NOT
VERY STRONG DEMOCRAT/REPUBLICAN.”) (IF “INDEPENDENT,” ASK:) Do you think of yourself as
closer to the Republican Party, closer to the Democratic Party, or do you think of yourself as strictly
independent? (IF “NOT SURE,” CODE AS “STRICTLY INDEPENDENT.”)
Strong Democrat ............................. 19
Not very strong Democrat ............... 14
Independent/lean Democrat ............ 12
Strictly Independent ......................... 14
Independent/lean Republican .......... 10
Not very strong Republican ............. 10
Strong Republican ........................... 16
Other (VOL) ..................................... 4
Not sure .........................................


97 posted on 07/02/2010 9:34:40 PM PDT by Josh Painter ("Every time a Democrat mocks Sarah Palin, an independent gets its wings." - JP)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 41 | View Replies]

To: onyx

Wow! Great gallery!


98 posted on 07/02/2010 9:43:44 PM PDT by Lancey Howard
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 46 | View Replies]

To: Josh Painter
Thanks for that eye-opener. We should have suspected. Oops, we did, obviously.

Wow, Sarah Palin doesn’t do well in a poll of mostly Democrats who mostly voted for Obama. Gee, what a shock.

99 posted on 07/02/2010 9:47:02 PM PDT by meadsjn (Sarah 2012, or sooner)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 97 | View Replies]

To: Biblebelter

100 posted on 07/02/2010 9:47:09 PM PDT by Lancey Howard
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 15 | View Replies]


Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first previous 1-20 ... 61-8081-100101-120 ... 141-148 next last

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.

Free Republic
Browse · Search
News/Activism
Topics · Post Article

FreeRepublic, LLC, PO BOX 9771, FRESNO, CA 93794
FreeRepublic.com is powered by software copyright 2000-2008 John Robinson