Free Republic

Two more prominent conservatives have gone public with the increasingly familiar view that Sarah Palin simply cannot win the presidency in 2012. The last few weeks have been very tough for Palin, with more and more conservatives voicing doubts about her fitness to be president (see Salon's guide to the criticism here) and her poll numbers dropping. The two latest doubters are columnist George Will and the RedState blogger Erick Erickson. They take two different routes to the same conclusion. Here's Erickson in a blog post today endorsing Rep. Mike Pence for 2012: But right now I am not excited...

"Jersey Shore" star Snooki might be a fan of Sen. John McCain, but she apparently does not share the same love for the Arizona senator's onetime running mate, Sarah Palin. The tanned reality star tweeted Wednesday, "Sara Palin has a reality show? ....I'm bored ... maybe ill come stir up some excitement in that alaskan home.." Perhaps Snooki is just trying to fend off the competition. Palin's own reality show, "Sarah Palin's Alaska," has gotten plenty of buzz and "Jersey Shore's" third season begins in just a week.

SharpieMarker writes"In what could be the most extreme and influential crowdsourcing project ever, Democrats are beginning to organize to purposely vote for Palin in the 2012 Republican primaries. Their theory is by having Palin as an opponent, Obama will have the best odds at winning reelection. Recent polls have shown that Obama comfortably leads Palin by 10-20 points, but Obama is statistically tied with Romney and barely ahead of Huckabee. They even have a state-by-state primary voting guide to help Democrats navigate various states' rules for voting Palin in Republican primaries."

The two have never met, but Sarah Palin’s star power hasn’t gone unnoticed by Sen. Jim DeMint. “We’ve never spoken, but she left me a nice message, and I believe she’s done more for the Republican Party than anyone since Ronald Reagan,” DeMint said. In a Politico article published Wednesday, DeMint and other senators are quoted talking about 2012 election candidate and courting possibilities. Mitt Romney is “near the top of [DeMint's] list” as well. DeMint is not the first political official to draw connections between Palin and the 40th president. Earlier this year, Arizona Sen. John McCain made the...

Jen Rubin makes the sensible case that, because all the potential GOP presidential candidates have weaknesses, a newcomer could have a real opening in the 2012 presidential election. Among others, Rubin suggests that Chris Christie, Paul Ryan, and Mike Pence might have a chance. It's the case now in politics that one can become famous very quickly. With cable TV, the Internet, and various other lightning fast means for exchanging information, it's not inconceivable that a candidate could start late, and still muster enough positive attention in a short amount of time to win a presidential primary. Consider the most...

(NewsCore) - Former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee has the support of more Republicans around the country than three of his potential 2012 rivals, according to a new CNN poll released Tuesday. The CNN/Opinion Research Corporation poll found that 67 percent of self-identified Republicans were either “very likely” or “somewhat likely” to support his candidacy in 2012. That compared with 59 percent for former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, 54 percent for former House Speaker Newt Gingrich and 49 percent for former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin. It is the second recent poll to show momentum for Huckabee. A Public Policy Polling survey...

I’m posting the interview I had been planning to excerpt from for a lead-in to today’s canceled “live FR cyber-interview” with former Congressman Hunter. Due to technical difficulties at the site this morning, we’ll have Hunter re-scheduled for sometime after Christmas. But he had a lot to say while we talked the other day as he drove a lonely stretch of freeway late at night in Texas, returning from a hunt. AJM: Hello Congressman. Let me ask a few questions about the book. When you come onto FR live, we obviously want to emphasis the book a little. And I’ll...