During an appearance on Fox News on Monday night, Sarah Palin signaled her belief that Rev. Jeremiah Wright shouldn't be off-limits as an issue in the presidential election.
Addressing the president's ties to his former pastor, Palin argued that the controversial figure should be fair game in the race for the White House. She explained, "I thought so in 2008, and that's why I went rogue, if you will and disagreed with some of John McCain's advisers when they said no a lot of these issues like past associations and Rev. Wright and Bill Ayers and those that helped shape Obama's world view needed to be off the table and not discussed."
The former Alaska governor added, "I disagreed then, I disagree now." She took issue with the notion of a "one-sided ceasefire call" and argued that some GOP operatives "have the fighting instinct of Mr. Snuffleupagus."
Last week, the New York Times reported that a Republican Super PAC was considering a $10 million campaign targeting the president's connection to Wright. Presumptive Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney sought to distance himself from the proposal, saying, "I want to make it very clear: I repudiate that effort."
HuffPost's Sam Stein reported on the Obama campaign's response to the matter:
Campaign manager Jim Messina carefully crafted a statement denouncing the "hate-filled, divisive campaign of character assassination" and accusing Mitt Romney of falling "short of the standard that John McCain set, reacting tepidly in a moment that required moral leadership."
On Monday night, Palin said that Republicans need to fight "tooth and nail" in 2012. Asked about who she sees as a strong possible GOP vice presidential candidate, the former governor reiterated her view that Rep. Allen West (R-Fla.) could be a strong pick.
Below, a slideshow Republican names that have been floated as potential GOP vice presidential candidates.
