Don't Count Saint Sarah Palin Out for President in 2012!

Don't write off Saint Sarah all you political pundits, press smartypants, and Washington insiders. You're out of touch with the men and women who love Sarah Palin--always have been and clearly will be. In your mind--Mr. Rove, Mr. Steele, and Mr. Huckabee--Sarah Palin has thrown away her chance to take the White House by handing in her resignation as governor. That's not what presidential candidates are supposed to do. They're supposed to toil away for years--decades, even--as senators or governors--before announcing their candidacy on the long haul to The Big White House.

Well guess what, boys--election rules are now made to be broken. Didn't you all just watch Barack Obama steal the White House right out from under the feet of the establishment-anointed Hillary Clinton? And he did it by forging a new path to the presidency based on an enormous grass roots movement that got its momentum from regular folks.

Oh yeah. Sounds familiar. Well Sarah Palin, despite her Katie Couric missteps, is no dumb bunny. The lady from Wasilla didn't leapfrog from nowheresville to Alaska governor by accident. She is a canny operator in her own right, with the ability to understand and embody the opinions of her audience. And they already like her better than before!

A new nationwide USA TODAY/Gallup Poll has found that two-thirds of Republicans want Palin to be "a major national political figure" in the future. In fact a whopping 71% of Republicans say they'd likely vote for her if she ran for president in 2012. And this poll was done after her resignation!

In fact, announcing her resignation on the eve of Independence Day wasn't done so the deed could slide under the radar of a long holiday weekend.

No way. She did it BECAUSE it WAS Independence Day and she wasn't really announcing a resignation. No, she was actually proclaiming "my independence...no more politics as usual."

When Sarah Palin shared the presidential campaign trail with Mr. Maverick himself, John McCain, she quickly learned that The Maverick is still a path with enormous appeal to the conservative small government crowd. That crowd still gets teary-eyed over the belief that every man or woman can make it for him or herself with just spit, vinegar and hard work. No need for government intervention. And don't forget, Obama won the presidency because he was the Maverick Democrat.

Now, the Lipstick Pitbull is banking on the fact that over the next 3.5 years there will be a behemoth of a backlash against Big Government, Big Spending, and Big Big Deficits--all the things that she and her supporters abhor.

And you know what--she's probably right. No matter how successful Obama's policies for routing a recession, there will be a swing back to the ideal that less government is more. America is just like that--cycles happen.

In the meantime, Saint Sarah can spend her time advancing her "higher calling" out of office. She made it very clear in her resignation speech that she has a mission and a missionary's fervor.

In her own words, she is done with conventional "politics as usual." Big Government spending is "amoral." She needs to "BUILD UP" and "FIGHT" for our country. She will support others who "seek to serve for the RIGHT reasons."

Sarah sees herself as the Joan of Arc for hardworking "average Americans." And like saints and missionaries of the past, when you have a calling that necessitates taking a bigger, more important road than regular roads, then you can't be bothered by accusations of "frivolous ethics violations," or by the typical "blood sport of the national political process."

I don't agree with critics that claim Sarah was speaking gobeldy gook when she was announcing her resignation. No, she was saying exactly what she wants to do. And it's clever.

No more time wasted on unproductive opposition that she would face in office. Instead, she'll take her message successfully on the road. And whether she's a new fox at Fox or reads speeches in front of sold-out auditoriums, Sarah Palin does know how to speak in a way that emotionally connects with her audience.

So beware to all Republicans and Democrats who count her out of the 2012 presidential race. These are unprecedented times, and unprecedented approaches that are not politics as usual will work. Saint Sarah has years now to go grassroots and spread her gospel. And guess what? It could work!

Photos: AP

For more on Sarah Palin, follow Bonnie on Twitter at www.twitter.com/bonniefuller.

 

Follow Bonnie Fuller on Twitter: www.twitter.com/bonniefuller

Comments

[moxieme]

Sounds like you're essentially sayin' she decidin' to start a revolution by throwin' in with John McCain and startin' up a Maverick Militia! Then they're gonna overthrow the govt because the only folks that really matter are the hard-working, spittin' vinegar swirlin' "average white men and women" of the GOP. None of the rest of of hard-working Americans who endured the last eight years of two wars, inadequate health care, no health care, no access to a decent education, REALLY matter unless we throw in with the Maverick Militia. It's gonna take more than Sarah, John and this fantasy you're writtin' about for her to actually BECOME POTUS. I betcha the overwhelmin' majority of the voting public will not bite.

[JeffmChicago]

Bonnie Fuller? Hahahahaha.

[Deja Peterson]

it kills me tha people think she has a chance in h*ll at the presidency. i mean really america.

[ruffmama]

I say we follow Rush's instruction and all head out to the polls in the Repub primaries and vote for her....Those in states without an open primary, don't forget to change your party affiliation.....give her the nomination and then watch her crash and burn. OPERATION CHAOS!!!!!! :D

[offred]

I bet she's planning on a morning talk show on Fox News. She'll probably partner with the Brown-Haired Guy who thinks races should "stick to their own kind." I feel a musical interlude coming on, maybe "Gonna Be a Rumble, Toniiiiiight."

[offred]

So what if Palin runs for president. The first time some other country stands up to her, she'll stamp her feet, resign, and run for the next office, which I guess would be Wasilla Messiah.

[BUTCHER111]

So let’s see. As VP Nominee she and John McCain, a war hero, lost big time to Obama. Now as a quitter she’d win the White House? If that is the case then she won’t be for long cause things would be to tough and she’d quit again. Maybe she could win with the slogan, “Vote for me and I might not quit!”

[Toxictort]

And pay my per diems for running the country from Wasilla instead of D.C.

[oldjerseygirl]

And don't forget what she stands for; the right-wing evangelical "religious" nuts. They have an agenda that they've been working on for decades and they see her as the "savior" they've been waiting for.

So, right....do not make the mistake of counting her out.

[NotStarvingArtist]

Be afraid, be very afraid!

"That crowd still gets teary-eyed over the belief that every man or woman can make it for him or herself with just spit, vinegar and hard work. "

The main thing wrong with that statement is that Sarah Palin hasn't done the hard work part. She quits when it gets too hard.

[TFlint]

"Vote for me and I promise to quit." Some platform!

[middleofeverywhere]

Unfortunately, it is possible for her to remain a viable candidate since it seems that a good sized chunk of the country is more impressed by celebrity than experience or intelligence.

[troika]

All Sister Sarah will get is her ultra conservative votes and then some conservatives, which is already a given. She will not be able to woo the independents after her pathetic performance as the VP nominee. No amount of studying is going to put her in the WH. Sorry republicans!! The folksy Wassilla style politics of WINKING and BETCHA and THANKS but NO THANKS ineffective in the lower 48 states and she better not set foot on the east coast or the west coast for she is a TOAST in the states there.

[Toxictort]

Don't forget all of the employees at Neiman marcus who will get bonuses for all the $$$$ she'll spend at the cosmetics counter and buying Fendi purses for her 7 year old from campaign funds.

[ThanksMatt]

Oh and I forgot: Of course she has a shot to become President - that is if I am her Vice President!

[OKF]

I think the author, Ms. Fuller, put more thought into this than Sarah Palin did herself. I don't even know I believe for sure Ms. Palin WANTS to be President. She may very well just be in this for the money & fame.

[BlueFloyd]

i think she wants all the trappings....she wants to run, but just not catch......like the mangy stinking dog chasing a big shiny car.

[ChiGuy]

I don't doubt for one second that she'll be on the scene in 2011/2012 seeking the Republican nomination as their candidate for POTUS.

However, what I KNOW is that she'll fail dismally as her fellow Republican candidates turn on her in a heartbeat and rip her to shreds.

[indy girl]

I agree. All we will have to do is make popcorn and watch the fireworks.

[BlueFloyd]

watch out for the old maids

[karinova]

Good point.