Posted on 10/04/2011 11:18:43 PM PDT by 2ndDivisionVet
Coincidentally, on the day New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie held a formal press conference to again announce that he would not officially enter the presidential contest, DVDs of a documentary titled The Undefeated, an independent film about former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin’s record of reform in taking on the crony capitalists and the political establishment in Alaska, went on sale at Walmart stores and online outlets such as Amazon.com.
A new national CBS poll, has Herman Cain tied with Mitt Romney with 17% of the vote. What may be more striking though, is that 18% of those polled were still undecided, a greater percentage than any candidate received.
The indecision among many Republican primary voters is a major reason supporters of Christie urged him to run, and Christie himself gave serious consideration to jumping into the race at the 11th hour, with hopes of consolidating a plurality of voters who are unhappy with the current field of candidates.
“My job in New Jersey is my passion,” Christie said. “I'm doing the job I love, in the state I grew up in, on behalf of the toughest, greatest people in the country.”
Christie would have faced organizational hurdles in addition to questions about his liberal rhetoric on immigration, climate change and Sharia law, in an election cycle in which much of the conservative base wants "authenticity" and a “bold and brash” candidate, said Mark McKinnon, a Republican political strategist who has worked for George W. Bush and John McCain.
“There have been people passionately calling on me to consider ... a run for President, and I had to consider their advice,” Christie said. “Now is not my time.”
So could it now be Palin’s time?
From now until the end of October, when candidates must meet the first official filing deadline to get on the primary ballot, the eyes of the political world will be on Palin, who, unlike other candidates who have shown a public sense of indecision, has never gone on record to say that she would not run for President.
In recent weeks, books that have sought to potentially undermine Palin have been thoroughly discredited.
For instance, Joe McGinniss, an author of an anti-Palin book, had an e-mail he wrote to a source discovered in which he wrote that a “legal review of my manuscript is under way, and here’s my problem: No one has ever offered documentation of any of the lurid stories about the Palins.”
McGinniss’ shenanigans and vindictiveness are representative of the frivolous ethics charges Palin was confronted with when she came back to Alaska after the 2008 election, which The Undefeated documents.
In an unconventional cycle in which candidates have seen rapid and wild swings in their poll numbers in a matter of weeks, Palin is the only Republican figure with enough clout, name recognition and grassroots support to enter this late and be a contender.
In fact, one difference between Palin and Christie is that while the Republican and financial elite have backed Christie, Palin’s support comes from her fervent grassroots supporters who disdain and loathe the GOP establishment and what Palin has referred to as the “permanent political class,” almost as much as they love Palin. Another difference is Palin’s bold conservatism, as opposed to Christie’s more pastel brand, the former’s fitting the spirit of this cycle way more than the latter’s.
The chattering class who gave plausible reasons for a viable Christie candidacy only laid out the arguments for why a Palin run could also succeed.
The only questions that remain are whether Palin will run and, if so or not, when will she make a formal announcement of her intentions.
Until she does, all eyes will be on Palin, and the GOP field is far from being considered set.
As I said, it can be done, though it would take many more measures than you’ve outlined, but all of your points would have to be part of the package.
A moot point, now, since Gov. Palin has announced that she will not be running.
I don’t believe any of the other candidates (except Cain) or fiscally and socially conservative enough to implement the changes we’d need to pull back from the precipice.
It’s a moot point now, but optimism and enthusiasm do not equal organization. What you are describing would have been a Grade-A cluster-f*** of epic proportions. I’ve run a lot of large projects where hundreds and sometimes thousands of people were involved. The last thing you want as a project manager is a whole bunch of highly motivated, enthusiastic people with absolutely no guidance or direction.
The last thing any inept project manager wants is to have the weakness and flaws of his plan pointed out and challenged.
How 'bout a little bio:
Son of working class parents. Mother a maid, and Father a chauffeur.
Bachelor’s degree in Mathematics.
Master’s degree in Computer Science.
Mathematician for the Navy, where he worked on missile ballistics.
Computer systems analyst for Coca-Cola.
VP of Corporate Data Systems and Services for Pillsbury (this is the top of the ladder in the computer world, being in charge of information systems for a major corporation).
Business Manager. Took charge of Pillsbury’s 400 Burger King restaurants in the Philadelphia area, which were the company’s poorest performers in the country. Spent the first nine months learning the business from the ground up, cooking hamburger and yes, cleaning toilets. After three years he had turned them into the company’s best performers. Godfather’s Pizza CEO.
Was asked by Pillsbury to take charge of their Godfather’s Pizza chain (which was on the verge of bankruptcy). He made it profitable in 14 months.
In 1988 he led a buyout of the Godfather’s Pizza chain from Pillsbury. He was now the owner of a restaurant chain.
He was also chairman of the National Restaurant Association during this time. This is a group that interacts with gov't on behalf of the restaurant industry, and it gave him political experience from the non-politician side.
Adviser to the Federal Reserve System. Herman Cain went to work for the Federal Reserve Banking System advising them on how monetary policy changes would affect American businesses.
Chairman of the Kansas City Federal Reserve Bank. He worked his way up to the chairmanship of a regional Federal Reserve bank. This is only one step below the chairmanship of the entire Federal Reserve System (the top banking position in the country). This position allowed him to see how monetary policy is made from the inside, and understand the political forces that impact the monetary system.
Writer and public speaker. His books include 'Speak as a Leader', 'CEO of Self', 'Leadership is Common Sense', and 'They Think You’re Stupid'.
Radio Host. Around 2007—after a remarkable 40 year career—he started hosting a radio show on WSB in Atlanta (the largest talk radio station in the country).
—Herman Cain may well have the most impressive resume of anyone that has run for the presidency in the last half century. Of course, you can vote for Obama again if you really want to.....
Uh, you were the one claiming to be a project manager and how to run a campaign, so?
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