Posted on 05/19/2011 7:15:48 PM PDT by SeekAndFind
Jimmy Carter never said “malaise,” Humphrey Bogart never said, “play it again Sam,” and Sarah Palin never said, “I can see Russia from my front porch.” But most people are convinced they did. As Yogi Berra quipped, “I never said most of the things I said.”
The caricaturing of Palin has led many political observers to cavalierly dismiss her chances of entering the 2012 GOP field — and winning. My question is…why?
At least one pundit sees the opportunity. Appearing on MSNBC’s “Andrea Mitchell” show Monday, Time magazine’s Mark Halperin noted that Mike Huckabee’s decision to skip the 2012 GOP primary, “leaves a big hole for Sarah Palin who can come in and take over that space that Huckabee left.”
A new Gallup poll seems to confirm his analysis. As The Washington Post’s Chris Cillizza writes,
the field remains decidedly muddled with no clear frontrunner. (Gallup doled out the past support for Huckabee/Trump based on the second place preferences of those voters.) Former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney takes 20 percent to 18 percent for former Alaska governor Sarah Palin …
Putting this in context, we now know that: 1). Mike Huckabee, a populist social conservative who won Iowa in 2008, isn’t running, and 2). Gallup has Sarah Palin in second place — just two points behind Mitt Romney. It is frankly stunning that — this late in the game — Palin still has a golden opportunity to win the nomination. (We also know, as the polling implies, the weak GOP field lacks a clear front runner to rally behind.)
And yet…conventional wisdom seems to hold that Palin will not run — and even if she does — she can’t win. The assumption is that Palin isn’t serious enough. Once again, I think she is being underestimated.
These assumptions continue to inform the way news stories about Palin are framed. For example, media observers recently began noticing that Palin wasn’t garnering quite as much press attention as before. This was largely portrayed as a sign that her influence may finally be waning — but was that necessarily the right conclusion?
Controversy often generates attention, and while the media were busy covering Donald Trump’s ridiculous antics this spring, Palin was delivering serious speeches in places like Wisconsin – and visiting vitally important nations like Israel and India. This was under-reported.
Also worth noting is that Palin was recently the “star” guest at Tammy Haddad’s garden brunch (for those outside the Beltway, this is the “who’s who” gathering of political insiders and muckety-mucks, held annually to coincide with the White House Correspondents Dinner). Palin’s attendance was reminiscent of another outsider, Ronald Reagan, who railed against DC elites, but attended dinner parties at Washington Post publisher Kay Graham’s house. The old Palin would probably not have attended this “lamestream” media event – the new Palin did.
Of course, it’s too early to know whether any of this foreshadows a presidential run, but consider this: If Palin were serious about running for president, isn’t buttressing her foreign policy credentials by traveling and building bridges with at least some media elites — precisely what she ought to be doing? Keep in mind, going back to Alaska, she has never run a conventional campaign — she always started late and was the underdog. And the good news for Palin is that she has more room for reinvention and growth than most people might realize.
Her supporters raise a good point when they argue she is “the most known, unknown” figure in politics. What they mean is that, despite how ubiquitous she became, she never really had a chance to craft her own image. (During the campaign, Palin was second to Sen. John McCain and, by necessity, had to adopt his campaign’s policies. And by the time the campaign ended, the media had already created the next iteration of the Palin brand.)
Don’t discount the possibility that Palin may indeed be on the verge of launching her second (or is it third?) act. It is entirely plausible to believe that Palin could seize this opportunity, win Iowa and South Carolina, and then make a real run for it. Don’t be surprised if she runs for president, and if she does, she can win.
I think he'll be a much weaker candidate by the time Nov. 2012 rolls around. Sure he'll have the full throated support of the MSM, but I don't think it will have the same effect it had during the last election. Obama will have to run on his record this time, rather than some amorphous set of notions.
Rightly or Wrongly to the people I talk with she is Either the Last hope for the Republic or No way in He11 she can Beat BHO. That bothers me that the non FR has already formed and opinion of her. The Republic as a whole is lazy and will believe everything the see on the TV.
I will say that If and When she announces if she don't rapidly move to the top of the list Its over. MSM has made it their Mission to destroy her.
My Ideal choice today is Cain/Palin but that can change especially since neither is technically in it.
Oh, ye of little faith.
Please try to keep your awe and wonderment in check, and your jaw off the floor, when the groundswell of support for Sarah erupts like a super volcano after her announcement.
It's coming, and it will be something for the ages.
The clock on the frivolous ethics lawsuits out of Alaska runs out on July 26th. The last thing she needs right now, is for a swarm of leftists to start filing new ones because she's announced.
Millions upon millions of Americans would beg to disagree with you on that. I do.
Well, good for you. I guess we won't be seeing you anymore on EVERY Palin thread from now on?
Or, are you going to keep posting your anti-Palin bromides, right up until her inauguration?
LOL
BOOYAH!
Just as sure as water seeks its own level, or the sun rises in the east.
You speak a truth that sets a fear and trembling in the bones of every liberal.
The other axiomatic truth, is that if Sarah runs, she also wins the White House. THAT truth sends liberals, statists, RINOs, Democrats, Marxists, the MSM, Obot zombies, and the ruling class into abject paroxysms of sheer terror.
And that brings me more pleasure than you can possibly imagine.
Boy, this poster had better Win The Future, 'cause he's certainly lost the past!
If not a ZOT, can you just singe his paint a little?
Cheers!
I love Sarah. So you are my better. Who should I vote for? Please teach me.
"Polls" said that Carter would wipe the floor with Reagan, right up until election day of 1980.
If the polls were the oracle you believe them to be, the MSM wouldn't waste a single breath attacking Sarah Palin.
Folks who are in the professional political class know that she's a force to be reckoned with, and aren't dismissing her in the least. On the contrary, they're doing all they can to prepare for her entrance into the race - including bailing out altogether, ala Huck, Trump, Barbour, et al.
Ohhhh, how they (everyone) knock this broad.
Point: Name one better than her?
The quisling MSM done ran outta ammo over the last two and a half years. They've overturned every possible stone in Sarah's garden, and have found nothing to bring her down with.
Instead, they've resorted to ad hominem attacks, which have predictably back-fired on them, and have only caused her stock value to rise.
Once she finally steps into the ring, they'll have nothing but the worn out ad hominems to shoot at her, which will sound tired and trite by that time.
Sarah's got superb political instincts in this regard (and many others). She knows what she's doing, and will leave the RINOs and the left wondering, "what the hell just happened?"
I really love Michele Bachmann, but she showed a clear lack of leadership and courage when she immediately caved to George Stephanopoulis when he showed her Barry's fake COLB. She didn't even try to put up a fight.
It was a textbook example of why America doesn't elect House members to the Presidency.
Well, there goes your wad.
LOL
Sarah didn't "quit". She was literally bombed out of her office by a slime bucket brigade of leftist operatives, bent on destroying her - both professionally, and personally.
The "quitter" meme is long dead, and you ought to know that by now.
I rest my case with the not too bright comment... thanks for supporting my post there skippie!
Oh, folks will throw out names to answer that question, but not a single one of the people they name can beat Sarah's grade point average in a test of every important category.
A lot of people who oppose her are stuck on a single issue, event, or statement. These range from those who (still) throw out the "quitter" meme, or, who feel that "she's damaged goods", or, "I like so-and-so's position on _____ better", to, "she can't beat Obama", ad infinitum...
Where these people fail, is that they're not grading all of the potential Republican candidates as a group, and seeing who scores the best - all things considered.
In a test of that sort, Sarah Palin is head, shoulders, and torso above the rest of the field.
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