Robert Gibbs pokes fun at Sarah Palin from his presidential podium. Giving a high profile dig to someone not in office, running for any office, or having any official role anywhere in the country. That's a lot of attention for someone who supposedly doesn't matter. The White House getting a little sloppy with their arrogance. It's not like Sarah's viability has spiked. A new ABC/Washington Post poll finds her unfavorable numbers at 55%, with her support among Republicans down. But then again, Gibb's boss is tied with a generic Republican in the latest Gallup poll. Okay, so "generic" doesn't mean a whole lot, but who would have bet that Obama would be that close to Republicans in a match up this time last year? While the DNC makes money off of Sarah's wink. There is no one who fits the mood or the times or fills the current political vacuum better than Sarah Palin. There has also never been anyone as electric on the right since Ronald Reagan. That's a lot of star power for someone whose adversaries are spending a whole lot of time talking about her irrelevance.
David Broder even weighed in sending a rhetorical wink to the GOP establishment to let them know at least he's taking her seriously. "She's good," the dean of Washington swooned.
The Tea Party crowd thinks so, too. Oh, and by the way, in South Carolina, the GOP and the Tea Partiers have joined forces, just like Sarah said they should.
While liberals continue to delight in using everything Sarah as a punching bag.
Matt Lattimer reminds us of recent history:
"No actor can be elected president." "No First Lady can win a Senate seat in a state where she never lived." "No one-term senator can defeat Hillary Clinton." There are plenty more opportunities to prove those in the know wrong.
Let's just say Palin's preparing her way and intends to be ready, because she has no intention of letting the Establishment ruin her party like what happened to Hillary, because Mrs. Clinton actually was the establishment candidate or so she thought.
Marc Ambinder wrote a very interesting post earlier this week about the devilish prowess of Sarah Palin.
Next week, Palin will be a VIP guest of honor at the Daytona International Speedway for the Daytona 500. She'll walk among the campers and RVs set up infield. This summer, she's agreed to speak at an international bowling expo. In April, in Las Vegas, Palin will keynote the Wine and Spirit Wholesalers Convention at Caesar's Palace. She will make choices in Republican primaries -- she campaigned Sunday with Rick Perry, bearing a "Hi mom!" on her palm -- more on that in a bit -- and an eloquent jab at the President: "'We will proudly cling to our guns and our religion."[...] "If the primaries were this year, I suspect she'd be nominated," a senior adviser to one of Sarah Palin's potential rivals confides. It's easy to see why: no one who's thinking of running beats the enthusiasm she generates among Republican activists. But there is more to the case for Palin than just the confluence of her personality and a vacuum within the Republican Party: there is a method to her management of her public image. It strongly hints that she has pretty much decided to run for president in 2012, unless something knocks her out of the race; it is more organized and structured that it appears; and it is something that Republican insiders, in particular, will ignore at their peril. ... - Marc Ambinder
Mitt Romney's lack of emotional connection with voters works against him, even as the economic climate plays into his strengths. But Palin's evangelical roots have the potential to wipe him out in the primary. As for Mike Huckabee, Sarahcuda will annihilate him with negative ads on his pardons, so it remains to be seen if his current popularity can withstand her onslaught, which will be unflinchingly devastating. As Sarah Palin has no compunction about playing hard and dirty. Palin at least has her national security talking points down now, which one would assume will be the same for Romney and Huckabee (add more God), which is why Gen. David Petraeus could pop up on any Republican's short list for veep. They're long overdue for an Eisenhower like push and the timing is perfect, because the right wants to beat Obama in 2012 as bad as the left wanted to beat Bush in 2004.
As for the Republican Establishment, Sarah Palin has no intention of going the Hillary Clinton route. Palin knows they can't stand her, fear her and will stop her if she gives them a chance or waits for their nod. Something Hillary never grasped of the Senate Democrats who worked behind her back to encourage Barack Obama to run. All's fair in politics, but Hillary missed what was happening all around her. It's not that Democrats hated Hillary like the GOP Establishment does Palin, but people from Harry Reid to Ted Kennedy to Nancy Pelosi were rooting for Obama, some long before Hillary even announced, with key players offering their support to Obama in private and long before it was made official.
It's too soon to tell about Sarah and 2012, but she's not going to wait for anyone else to give her permission to run for president. She's not going to be a good little Republican and wait her turn either. Her instincts tell her, and Scott Brown's win showed her, that the mood is right for someone who can tap into that populist, old fashioned anger, topped with a lot of home spun, good old American patriotism, which she hopes will harken back to a time when America was on top in all columns, everyone was working, Detroit was selling cars, and American prestige financially was still intact. Making people feel good about her, bad about Obama, and thinking Palin populism can translate into a different type of change is job one right now.
So, Sarah plans to ride the wave of gun toting, religion clinging, angry Americans, as they were known in 2008, as far as she can, dreaming of being the first female U.S. president. Nate Silver has already handicapped the possibilities.
Besides, Hillary already prepared the way so that no woman on the national scene will ever have to go through the media gauntlet she did again.
If Democrats were smart and had a strategy, which they aren't and don't, they would go at Sarah Palin straight on, challenging her on issues and talking points, instead of ridiculing her and setting her up. Their real problem is they can't ignore her, but don't know what to do about her, simply hoping her star will eventually burn out.
There is nothing that gives the White House crew and their No One Can Beat Our Guy fans a better laugh than anyone thinking that Barack Obama would have to worry about the likes of Sarah Palin. In fact, the way the White House has been taking their sweet time on just about everything, you'd think they'd won an 8-year stint. That was assumed, right?
Sarah, her fans, and the Tea Partiers are here to let Democrats know there's a different type of change a foot and it doesn't come cloaked in an Ivy League resume, GOP Establishment credentials or the centrisy-centrism, lefty moving right sort of gaming nonsense. She's just Sarah, bringing common sense to America, something Washington sorely needs.
Palin's "pitch-perfect populism" to the rescue, as Mr. Broder called it in his column.
The Republican Establishment has to prove they've got someone better.
After all, as far as Sarah and her fans are concerned, the smart set has had their chance and they blew it.
Taylor Marsh is a political analyst out of Washington, D.C.
Follow Taylor Marsh on Twitter: www.twitter.com/taylormarsh
 |
 |
|
| Obama | Romney | |
|---|---|---|
| Electoral Votes (270 to win) |
332 | 206 |
| Obama | Romney | |
|---|---|---|
| Total | 65,899,660 | 60,932,152 |
| Percent | 51.1% | 47.2% |
| Democrats* | Republicans | |
|---|---|---|
| Current Senate | 53 | 47 |
| Seats gained or lost | +2 | -2 |
| New Total | 55 | 45 |
| Democrats | Republicans | |
|---|---|---|
| Seats won | 201 | 234 |
McCain/Palin in 2008 pulled ahead of Obama for a few weeks when “drill baby drill” took hold and McCain said he would build 50 new Nuclear Plants in response to Global Warming.
Obama retook the lead by co-opting that message by basically saying ME TOO over and over. He repeated support for new Nuclear plants and more US oil from new areas in the State of the Union speech recently.
Fast forward to 2012.
If no new areas are being drilled and no new Nuclear plants have broken ground and Palin (or anyone else, he is now in a tie with a generic GOP opponent) running against him says: “Vote for me and I’ll open new areas for drilling (drill baby drill) and build new Nuclear power plants”, what chance will Obama have?
He can’t say Vote for me because that’s a bad idea, because that’s what he said he would do.
He can’t say I tried but it’s too hard, because that’s admitting he is not up to the job.
I cannot think of anything Obama could say that would save him.
I do not think “Vote for me I’ll do that too (I really, really mean it this time) will work again.
Why can't Dems HELP him with his agenda? He gets more pushback from Dems than anyone else. The GOP is sitting on their hands, and why not, circular firing squads are best watched from a distance!
Also, as I understand it these will be the first new nuclear power plants in the US in 30 years, and 20 of those years have seen a Republican in the White House. So if the public is unhappy, they should blame the GOP.
I did say, "If no new areas are being drilled and no new nuclear plants have broken ground"
My point wasn't that Obama would not try to do this; he is a very smart man and would not have said that in the state of the union speech if he didn’t intend to try. My point is the Dems in congress would be his biggest obstacle, as they seem to be on many of his programs. All they seem to want to do is fight each other. I just want the Dems to HELP OBAMA.
Gauntlet? The media declared Hillary the "inevitable" candidate for YEARS. In the end, they simply could not ignore her terrible judgment (Iraq war vote), flawed campaign strategy (failing to organize for state causcuses and then calling them "undemocratic"), horrible campaign leadership resulting in staff warfare and deep debt, failure to manage "Bill in the china shop", the dishonesty on qualifications (peace in N. Ireland, bullets in Bosina), and the use of Rove-style wedge politics in a Democratic primary as so evidenced in SC and PA.
Taylor once again shows a selective memory and kinda bitter bias that so often disqualifies otherwise insightful commentary.
OMG. Are you serious?
LOL!!!!
She traffics in anger, resentment, innuendo, exaggeration, provocation and distortion. She presided over political rallies where members of the crowd called the Democratic candidate a traitor, a te/rrorist, a co/mmunist, a Musl!m, an Arab, a mo/nkey and the N word, routinely calling for his murder well within her earshot, and only took steps to clean up the perceptions of these rallies when it became politically necessary (in fact she scarcely bothered: it was McCain who took conspicuous steps to clean things up). She is a vicious, dangerous person. That is a plain fact
Independents are polling against this party in numbers unprecedented. The people got the message. Pelosi and the insiders wanted a president in their pocket, and they got one.
However, his agenda isn't what people want at all.
However, the admin DID take her on regarding issues. Remember the death panels? And then before the chatter had disappated, here comes the government commission's advice to skip those mammograms.
Wow, point made, huh?
The problem is that everything keeps backfiring on the admin. Obama calls the teaparty people loony, and then...turns out they are winning elections. Pelosi cries about them. And then, her polls come out showing the lowest popularity ever in history.
And, one thing you're right about. Sarah isn't afraid to throw a hard ball. Why should she be? The Left isn't above going after even her kids. She learned.
The three Republican victories have all been MODERATE REPUBLICANS.
And the one teabagger candidate who was an officially-sanctioned teabagger candidate lost handily. in NY.
Stop lying, AnnfromCA.
She has set her kids up, used them as props, particularly Bristol, Piper and Trig. No one is criticizing her children, but wouldn't it be a better idea if "the Sarah" allowed her 10 year old Piper to attend school and have as normal a life as possible?
Get your head out of the sand - even the teabaggers have called her out and they shun elitism.
The thing is, Obama isn't that close to any prospective Republican candidate a match up. From Fox news polling on potential 2012 match ups:
Obama 47% Romney 35%
Obama 55% Palin 31%
Obama 53% Gingrich 29%
But this article isn't really about Sarah Palin being a viable 2012 candidate; it's about a bitter, sore loser clintonite seeing a opportunity to take a few swipes at President Obama. At this point it's pretty much impossible to underestimate Palin. Sure there are yahoos who think this know-nothing is qualified to be president. I challenge anyone to point me to a substantive statement for Palin about any of the issues that our country faces; the economy, jobs, healthcare reform, national security/foreign policy....; any statement that shows she has thought deeply about the issue. Palin can't run a year or more long presidential campaign through facebook entries, while continuing the hide from any substantial interaction with the press.
It's not pretty. I personally think that rather than demand that Sarah explain herself more, the Dems better start selling their own ideas. Because people absolutely are sending big messages that they don't agree.
And even with all of that, 71% of Americans think palin belongs nowhere near the white house. If you think "golly gee" and "you betcha" is enough to get palin in the white house, you're deluded. And quite frankly, that's all she's shown herself to have.
You also don't understand how the American voter works. It's not about substantive policy regurgitation, which you'd think Dems would have learned after the two-term presidency of George W. Bush.
Emotion rules in elections. Palin is tied to her voters through that simple and hugely effective political tool known as feeling connected to the politician. Facts and wonky policy talk have absolutely nothing to do with it.
No, I'm not a part of the "No One Can Beat Our Guy Obama choir", I'm part of the "Your prospects on the nation political scene are limited if almost three quarters of Americans think you don't belong there choir". I know the name is long, we're thinking about changing it.
Many of the posters here are caught up in what THEY deem are disqualifying deficiencies - the Couric interview, quitting the gov'nor office, etc. the fact is she was on a ticket that got near 50 million votes. she likely will run again, the fame, attention, and money are just too much too pass up.
i used to give 1/4 odds of her being the next prez of the USA, after reading the denials here, i now give it 1/3
He is why you are wrong and these are much more likely scenarios. Obama will raise well over a billion dollars before the primary process. He will have such a funding advantage, coupled with his national profile that he is basically unbeatable. Which is why people like Halley Barber and Jeb Bush aren't running against him. 2016 is going to be an open seat. There are many people who can spend these 8 years creating a brand and a coalition strong enough to win then but running and losing in 2012 is not a good way to position yourself for 2016. Ask John Edwards. Second, if the President passes any part of his agenda it is game over.
Can you imagine Palin doing this? She is thoroughly undisciplined. As a VP candidate, she didn't even last two months without having crashing and burning. She couldn't bring herself to prep for interviews or debates. She quit in the middle of her term because things got too tough. I really don't think she has it in her.