McCain Campaign Manager: Palin In 2012 Would Be Catastrophe for GOP

If Sarah Palin is her party's nominee for president in 2012 it will be a "catastrophic election" for the GOP, Sen. John McCain's 2008 campaign manager predicted on Friday.

Longtime GOP strategist Steve Schmidt -- who ran McCain's campaign and played a role in picking Palin as the senator's running mate -- offered a scathing assessment of the former Alaska governor's political trajectory.

"I think that she has talent," Schmidt said, "but my honest view is that she would not be a winning candidate for the Republican Party in 2012."

"She is someone who has a passionate base that constitutes millions of Americans," Schmidt said. "But in the year since the election has ended, she has done nothing to expand her appeal beyond that base into the middle of the electorate where elections are decided."

Speaking at The Atlantic's First Draft of History Conference, Schmidt was asked, initially, to respond to Palin's forthcoming book, "Going Rogue", and how he thought he would be portrayed in it.

"I think it may say that I was anti-rogue in the running of the campaign," he replied, hinting at the frictions between him and Palin that have been extensively reported since the end of the 2008 campaign.

Schmidt did compliment Palin for engendering fascination among millions of people throughout the country. "Just look at her pre-sales numbers," he said of her book. And he even added that it was not "inconceivable that she could be Republican nominee for president of the United States."

But, he qualified, it would be "fairly inconceivable" that she could end up being president. "In fact, were she to be the nominee we could have a catastrophic election."

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Comments

[Yo Simon]

Dont listen to the GOP naysayers Sarah! Run baby run!!! and PLEASSSSSSE select Michelle Bachman as your VP. PALIN/BACHMAN 2012 all the way baby!!!!

[orlik]

How would Mr. Shmidth know if it would be a catastrofe or not? he didn't even know he was running a catastrofic lame campaign for McCain, where in the middle of it, turned everyone against Sara Palin.
I think that if the 2012 GOP campaign is run by Shmidt it can be a catastrofe regardless of who is running.

[Tags]

My Dad says the democrats are afraid of Sarah Palin.

I said, yeah, they're afraid she's not gonna run in 2012.

As long as there's a chance she'll run, her books will sell to her freespending fringe.

[ceedubya]

I was watching this silly show 'supernatural' the other day.. in the episode the main character gets teleported into the future to the year 2014 where satan has taken over the planet and zombies roam the land...
In one scene the guy picks up the newspaper and the headline is "President Palin Defends Bombing of Houston"
Palin= apocalypse... sounds about right to me! lol

[carsntrucks]

Look on the bright side: at least there are still newspapers in 2014.

[WillSeitz]

I think it is pretty clear that Sarah Palin is not concerned with public service. She quit the elected role she had when it would have interfered with her ability to make a lot of money. I suspect that Sarah Palin will have someone calculate whether a presidential run would make her money or not. Under the threat of fading from the public eye she might make a primary run as a way to launch a career as a pundit like Limbaugh or O'Riley.

[Keith Hardeman]

Sarah don't listen to those guys they are just jealous..go rouge honey!!!
http://hubpages.com/hub/GOP-Jihad

[S1m0n]

It's not going to be a good election for the GOP whoever gets the nomination. Obama might defeat himself to lose the election, but he's not going to be beaten by a Republican and lose because they took it away from him.

[roybattyjunior]

I keep forgetting that it's McCain's responsiblity for unleashing that legacy of pestilence (SP) upon us.

Thanks, Ye Olde Sibilant One.

[spacecreep]

MICHELLE MAULKIN HAS BEST SELLERS, ANN COULTER HAS BEST SELLERS........I QUESS WE HASVE 3 POTENTIAL CANDIDATES FOR REPUBLICAN PRESIDENT FOR 2012... THEY ALL HAVE THEIR BASE...... IT'S ALL FANTASY... IF ANY OF THESE WOMEN WERE BLACK.... THE REPUBS WOULD BE TRYING TO BURY THEM AS ILLITERATE IMPOSTORS, THE RESULT OF AFFIRMATIVE ACTION.

[Bips]

It's the caps lock button...just above the shift key

[JTPurcell]

whpo ever wind the 2010 elections, it is the Amemrican people who have been flushed down the toilet by the President

[jafsie]

Go do your drunken posting on HannityFan or DittoWannaBe, or whatever, sweetie... We're busy over here on the Planet Earth...

[Michael Gibson]

Imagine, if you will:

January, 2013 Sarah Palin is sworn in as President of the United States of America. A mass exodus of doctors, teachers, professors, and scientists begin. Within 10 years USA will be as scientifically & politically backwards as Afghanistan

March, 2014 President Palin calls a press conference in which she resigns as President in order to write a book and do speeches

April, 2014 The new President, Michele Bachmann, declares war on the Muslim world.

May, 2014 Washington, DC is leveled by concentrated thermonuclear blasts by Islamic jihadists in retaliation for the bombing of Tehran

June, 2014 The world enters a new Dark Ages

Yeah if Palin runs for president and wins I am running for the hills.

[gypsysailor]

Well I'd highly recommend that you keep yer powder dry and yer knife sharp. You'll have lots of competition. Includin' Sarah.

[Ronald Williams]

president palin would take to the skies in the presidential helicoptor, and began shooting wolves, and anything that moves. We would have moose heads througth out the White House, including over the Lincoln bed. I'm convinced that tjere's absolutely nothing she could do to disapprove the conservative vwing nuts..

[MJinCanada]

Traditionally, Americans flee political oppression by coming to Canada. We got the United Empire Loyalists back in the 1780s, a batch of hardworking but late pioneers in the 1890s and a whole load of bright young professors in the 1960s.

So when Bachmann becomes president, I think there might be popular support for Canada invading the US to restore democracy and civil rights. Under UN auspices of course.

[LiamMunny]

Then by all means , bring her on!!!!

[bogues]

I am very leery of assuming the electorate would be too smart to elect Palin. For some reason, the evangelicals have devoted themselves to her and they would move heaven and earth to make her President of the United States. I do however think someone like Huckabee is going to be the standard bearer for the evangelicals. He said to them recently, "Many will come to you, I come from you." We are going to be in for a very rough time with this group and they are going to run a decidedly vulgar campaign even though they claim to be so morally superior.

[ywcachieve]

The Evangelicals couldn't even get Palin elected with McCain, and they can't get her elected by herself.
The Evangelicals, and so-called Christian right don't have any power.

They will never pull it off. If they could, McCain/Palin would have won last November.

[gabemill]

NEVER underestimate the enemy...look at Caribou Barby's book sales, pre-printing !!!
Do not dismiss this lot! Have you forgotten they successfully portrayed John Kerry as a treasonous coward? Do not underestimate this ilk.......fight them with truth! Know the enemy beyond all others. To do otherwise is a HUGE mistake!

[ThirdSection]

Careful there, ywcashieve! Although their tactics failed this last time, we should never rest on our laurels or become complacent.

[MJinCanada]

Mike Huckabee -- rather eerily like Nehemiah Scudder, don't you think?

[neocon666]

During a discussion of the future of the republican party on BBC America on election night last November, when ask if the party needed to change, a conservative comentator replied "We don't have minorities, we don't have women, and we don't have young people. The only group we have are rural white males". Sarah Palin (and the current GOP leadership for that matter) gavanizes the loyalty of last group, but offers nothing to the other three. Her candidacy for president would assure the republican party's defeat yet again, and more stellar ratings for SNL.

[gabemill]

Don't lull yourself to sleep with this notion...
The despicables amongst us will stop at nothing to gain ground. Their camp requires NO truth or sensibility. They appeal to the lowest common denominator, and unfortunately, a large portion of the population accepts their fallacious arguments as having merit. Don't take these people lightly.......

[jsgaetano]

Run Baby Run!

Palin is the true future of the GOP: regional, hate-based, pro-secession, and anti-America.

[Amalek]

Add anti-education, fundamentalist and white.

If America buys the GOP, it is in very deep trouble.

[gypsysailor]

If she wins she'll make Rush her drug czar.

[Bips]

Yeah, we'll have to give him all our prescriptions. haha, what a whackjob that fool is.