“Regardless of whether it was a mistake or not, i wish Palin hadn’t been picked by McCain. Can you imagine how strong she would have been this go around without the media hounding her and trying to sabotage her every day for the past 4 years?”
Sarah Palin was launched onto the public American stage as a result of being chosen as McCain’s running mate. So like a bad marriage that produces great kids(mine), it was the only way for her to become the influential woman that she is today.
Cheney and everyone else who opines about what shoulda or coulda been is wasting their own and everyone else’s time.
It is what is it. Now let’s get out of the way and allow Sarah to continue to do what she does best.,,ie help Conservatives get elected to office.
Palin is doing a lot to advance conservatism, but strictly from the standpoint of running for President this time around, or even being selected as the running mate, the attacks over the past four years have taken their toll. She has been able to turn lemons into lemonade and that’s great, many would have been destroyed by the kind of attacks she has faced, but i can’t help but wish she would have been a viable force this time around in her own right instead of only being able to help other conservatives get elected.
And this is relevant today, not simply wistful thinking. For what happened to Palin may be what will prevent Romney from seriously considering a Martinez or Rubio or West. The left and the liberal media have let it be known through their attacks on Palin and Clarence Thomas and others, that if Republicans attempt to make in-roads into areas of the electorate controlled by the left, then those people will be vilified by the left and their cohorts in the media. We all know that women and minorities on the right are held to a higher standard, while those on the left to a lower standard, as evidenced by Palin vs Obama or Thomas vs Holder.
So if we try to go in that direction again, it will need to be with someone who already has established a well-respected national identity, someone who won’t be easily redefined by the media. For instance, a Bobby Jindal if he meets constitutional requirements. Martinez, Rubio, West can expect the Palin treatment.