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Sarah Palin: Still Not the Front-Runner (Then why are they writing about her?)
The New York Times ^ | September 22, 2010 | Ross Douthat

Posted on 09/22/2010 1:31:15 PM PDT by 2ndDivisionVet

Here are two more data points from the weekend to back up my argument that the 2012 Republican nomination is not Sarah Palin’s to lose. First, the Values Voter Summit straw poll, a decent gauge of sentiment among the kind of activists Palin would presumably need to rally, in which the former Alaska governor racked up just 7 percent of the vote, trailing Mike Pence (who gave a barn-burner of a speech), Mike Huckabee, Mitt Romney and Newt Gingrich. Second, a new 2012 poll from Public Policy Polling, showing Romney leading with 22 percent, followed by Huckabee at 21, Gingrich at 18, and Palin at 17 percent. And note this statistic:

As is the case every month Sarah Palin is the most personally popular of the Republicans, with 66 percent viewing her favorably. She is followed by Huckabee at 60 percent and Gingrich and Romney at 57 percent.

The problem for Palin is that a smaller percentage of the people who like her personally support her for President than any of the other Republicans. 37 percent of the voters who like Romney also say he’s their choice for the 2012 nomination and the same is true for 32 percent who like Gingrich and Huckabee. But just 24 percent who see Palin positively on a personal level translate that to intent to vote for her. [emphasis mine — R.D.]

About a month ago, I wrote a column arguing that the most interesting pre-primary contest in the G.O.P. was arguably the battle to see if somebody (a Mitch Daniels? a Jon Thune? a Haley Barbour? a Tim Pawlenty?) would manage to unseat Romney from his perch as the safe, competent-seeming, establishment-y candidate...

(Excerpt) Read more at douthat.blogs.nytimes.com ...


TOPICS: Campaign News; Parties; Polls; State and Local
KEYWORDS: 2012; douthat; douthat4romney; douthatromneybot; gop; huckabee; palin; polls; romney; romneyantipalin; romneyspet; sarahpalin; strawpolls
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Somehow, Ross missed these stories:

Sarah Palin wins 2012 Right Nation poll: Chicago rising http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-gop/2593517/posts

[President] Clinton Cautions Democrats On Underestimating Palin http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-gop/2593507/posts

Madam President? It could happen http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-gop/2593093/posts

1 posted on 09/22/2010 1:31:19 PM PDT by 2ndDivisionVet
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To: 2ndDivisionVet
Ross still has SOB. (Sarah On the Brain)
2 posted on 09/22/2010 1:34:09 PM PDT by JPG (Care for another lobster, Mookie? How's your steak? Ready for another triple Stoli/rocks?)
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To: 2ndDivisionVet

As a Palin supporter I hope she does NOT become the hands down front runner in all the polls UNTIL the primaries actually start. Let her enemies think she is just one of the pack. Heh heh. My grammar in this post sucks but you get what I’m saying.

Palin 2012.


3 posted on 09/22/2010 1:34:36 PM PDT by toddausauras
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To: 2ndDivisionVet

Ross Douchehat and the NYT are sure obsessing over someone who is not a front-runner. I guess when there is nothing to write about they fall back on a good anti-Palin piece.


4 posted on 09/22/2010 1:34:47 PM PDT by Russ (Repeal the 17th amendment)
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To: 2ndDivisionVet

Good the “front runner” never wins


5 posted on 09/22/2010 1:35:16 PM PDT by MNJohnnie (The problem with Socialism is eventually you run out of other people's money. Lady Thatcher)
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To: 2ndDivisionVet

If she’s not the frontrunner, who is?


6 posted on 09/22/2010 1:35:33 PM PDT by therightliveswithus
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To: 2ndDivisionVet

they write about her because all the boys are cowards...

my guess.


7 posted on 09/22/2010 1:36:08 PM PDT by mmercier (so far away)
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To: 2ndDivisionVet
Then why are they writing about her?

Because she's a good-looking celebrity, and still a novelty.

The difference between media coverage and things like polls and straw polls, tells you a lot more about the media than it does about her actual chances.

8 posted on 09/22/2010 1:37:04 PM PDT by r9etb
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To: 2ndDivisionVet; Uncledave; Walts Ice Pick; sdpatriot; Varmint Al; TexasGunRunner; ...
SARAH PALIN'S PING LIST "ping"

9 posted on 09/22/2010 1:38:07 PM PDT by onyx (If you support Sarah and want on her Ping List, let me know!)
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To: 2ndDivisionVet

The way the media acts towards Palin, you would think she killed all of their families and burned their houses to the ground. No one has such an obsessive hatred for a “nobody”.


10 posted on 09/22/2010 1:39:14 PM PDT by Shadow44
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To: r9etb
"The difference between media coverage and things like polls and straw polls, tells you a lot more about the media than it does about her actual chances."

You might want to click on the links in my post #1 then...

11 posted on 09/22/2010 1:39:57 PM PDT by 2ndDivisionVet (I don't need a newspaper to know the world's been shaved by a drunken barber.)
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To: 2ndDivisionVet

PMS (Palin Madness Syndrome)


12 posted on 09/22/2010 1:43:41 PM PDT by matt1234 (The only crisis 0bama can manage is one he intentionally created.)
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To: JPG

Oh we’ve known this tactic b4. get the most liberal “republican” RINO and start building him up..and later tear him down during the elections.


13 posted on 09/22/2010 1:43:47 PM PDT by max americana (Hoax and Chains, Dopeychangey)
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To: 2ndDivisionVet

He also misse dthis story, which is even more damaging...

Rasmussen: 52% feel Palin reflects their values; Only 40% for Obama!


14 posted on 09/22/2010 1:44:15 PM PDT by nhwingut (Palin/Bachmann '12)
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To: 2ndDivisionVet
You forgot to link:

RASMUSSEN'S POLL: 52% of Voters Say Their Views Are More Like Palin’s Than Obama’s

Whose views are closer to your own? Palin/Obama

Overall: 52/40

Male: 55/37
Female: 48/43
White: 58/35
Black: 5/87
GOP: 84/9
DEM: 14/81
INDY: 59/27
Conservative: 80/12
Moderate: 28/61
Liberal: 14/85

15 posted on 09/22/2010 1:45:40 PM PDT by onyx (If you support Sarah and want on her Ping List, let me know!)
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To: 2ndDivisionVet
Sarah Palin: Still Not the Front-Runner

The more the Deathbed Media obsesses about Sarah, the closer she will get to the front of the pack.

16 posted on 09/22/2010 1:45:47 PM PDT by giotto
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To: 2ndDivisionVet
As Scott Rasmussen stated : The Tea Parties and my emphasis 'the grassroots as a whole' is not going anywhere and will have a part in determining who will be the nominee in 2 years When you put that in play that spells trouble for Mitt who does not connect with the average voter well, maybe Pawlenty, Newt and many others might fail to do that as well effectively Sarah is not the Tea Party leader but she "embodies" the Tea Party, both parties attack her constantly in one way or another, many people do not like that; So Sarah will have a card up on everyone and will hold the "WILD CARD" One point that is often forgotten is that Sarah has been deep within the battles of Health Care ,Cap n trade,....etc many of the contenders other than maybe Newt, Pence, Thune have either been timid or silent on the battles over the past year or so....MANY will question those contenders "where have you been when we need you?" and that's where Sarah can say that she stood with them while others, *(MITT)* are too cautious!
17 posted on 09/22/2010 1:47:17 PM PDT by Bigtigermike
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To: 2ndDivisionVet

Can someone explain something to me?

Why is Huckabee doing so well in these polls? Who is his constituency?


18 posted on 09/22/2010 1:52:37 PM PDT by Mangia E Statti Zitto
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To: 2ndDivisionVet
trailing Mike Pence (who gave a barn-burner of a speech),

That explains Pence's win. Too many conservatives react quite emotionally. Pence gives a rousing speech, Wilson calls Obama a liar, Scott Brown wins in Mass., etc and people want to anoint them president. Next week, they'll jump on someone else's bandwagon. In this case, they want Pence, who in all probability, isn't even running.

19 posted on 09/22/2010 1:52:49 PM PDT by upsdriver (The revolution begins on Nov. 2 to take back our country. The American people vs the ruling elite.)
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To: Mangia E Statti Zitto

Evangelicals who don’t like Gov. Sarah Palin or don’t believe in women in positions of power, perhaps?


20 posted on 09/22/2010 1:56:04 PM PDT by 2ndDivisionVet (I don't need a newspaper to know the world's been shaved by a drunken barber.)
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To: r9etb

Celebrity? Novelty? Get real. Sarah Palin is in their heads. She is impacting elections around the country like no other single person.


21 posted on 09/22/2010 1:56:04 PM PDT by upsdriver (The revolution begins on Nov. 2 to take back our country. The American people vs the ruling elite.)
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To: JPG

In a way, I think it’s good that they pick on Sarah...They waste a lot of energy on her. It leaks out all their arguments. It leaks out all their strategery...

It will be funny to me, and I hope - with all due respect - to Sarah Palin too - that she is laughing on the sidelines when these people are still hyperventilating and hurling epithets at her (and GW) when she isn’t even running - and the conservative candidate wins.

No disprespect for Sarah. She has done a lot for the cause...

Just love the idea of them wasting their energy on her - like a tar-baby...when the real threat to democrats and liberals is their own ideas.


22 posted on 09/22/2010 1:57:43 PM PDT by WAW (Which enumerated power?)
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To: onyx

I beat you to it by a minute. But you provided the link. Bonus points :)


23 posted on 09/22/2010 1:57:52 PM PDT by nhwingut (Palin/Bachmann '12)
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To: 2ndDivisionVet

Wow, you may be right. I hadn’t thought of the “woman in power” angle. Makes sense!


24 posted on 09/22/2010 1:57:54 PM PDT by Mangia E Statti Zitto
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To: 2ndDivisionVet

The Left hates her, because she isn’t Ivy League-educated and tells the truth and hates Marxism.

Go Sarah!


25 posted on 09/22/2010 1:57:54 PM PDT by wac3rd (Somewhere in Hell, Ted Kennedy snickers....)
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To: 2ndDivisionVet
If the GOP is stupid enough to nominate any one of these
RINOS, Mike Huckabee,Willard Mitt Romney and Newt Gingrich,
they deserve to lose!
26 posted on 09/22/2010 1:59:19 PM PDT by HuntsvilleTxVeteran ((B.?) Hussein (Obama?Soetoro?Dunham?) Change America Will Die From.)
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To: Mangia E Statti Zitto

Huckabee is a likable person.


27 posted on 09/22/2010 2:00:14 PM PDT by upsdriver (The revolution begins on Nov. 2 to take back our country. The American people vs the ruling elite.)
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To: Bigtigermike

The Tea Party Movement doesn’t have leaders, so Gov. Palin naturally can’t be one, and neither can you or I.

The Tea Party Starfish
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2590334/posts


28 posted on 09/22/2010 2:00:14 PM PDT by 2ndDivisionVet (I don't need a newspaper to know the world's been shaved by a drunken barber.)
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To: JPG

Leftists are nothing if not predictable. You’ll never see them attack the likes of Juan McCain, Olympia Snowe, Susan Collins, Lindsey Grahamnesty or other dependable, RINO sell-outs. These are the best republican friends a liberal could have! But Sarah Palin....now THERE is a creature who MUST be destroyed as quickly and completely as possible. She represents a TRUE threat to the leftist agenda and these lefty political pundits reveal that fact with every article they write.


29 posted on 09/22/2010 2:05:43 PM PDT by Oldpuppymax
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To: upsdriver
Celebrity? Novelty? Get real.

You don't like it, but it's true.

Sarah Palin is in their heads. She is impacting elections around the country like no other single person.

Two points there.

First, the "not a front-runner" tag applies to her chances as a presidential candidate. She's not polling as high as others in that regard, nor has she done well in the straw polls that have recently started (they are pretty worthless, I'll admit).

As to "impacting elections," I will grant that she's had an effect on party primaries. Whether that carries through to the general election remains to be seen.

What appeals to the party faithful does not necessarily appeal to those who are not registered as Republicans. It's possible that a Palin endorsement could be unhelpful in the general election.

30 posted on 09/22/2010 2:10:09 PM PDT by r9etb
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To: r9etb

Sarah Palin wins 2012 Right Nation poll: Chicago rising
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-gop/2593517/posts


31 posted on 09/22/2010 2:15:26 PM PDT by 2ndDivisionVet (I don't need a newspaper to know the world's been shaved by a drunken barber.)
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To: 2ndDivisionVet
Read 'em and weep

fwiw, I don't think straw polls are worth a damn, especially this far out. Nevertheless, if one really wants to use them to judge the current "front-runner" status of various prospective presidential candidates, Sarah Palin is not the front-runner.

32 posted on 09/22/2010 2:19:06 PM PDT by r9etb
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To: r9etb
Palin does pretty well in polls, and her charisma that draws so much media attention will serve her well, it is the only way that a conservative can survive the media onslaught.

Image and video hosting by TinyPic

33 posted on 09/22/2010 2:28:44 PM PDT by ansel12 ([fear of Islam.] Once you are paralyzed by fear of Mohammedanism...you have lost the battle.)
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To: r9etb

April 2010 straw polls in states without early primaries? Why not link to 2008 straw polls while you’re at it? She won’t even show up in those...


34 posted on 09/22/2010 2:30:36 PM PDT by 2ndDivisionVet (I don't need a newspaper to know the world's been shaved by a drunken barber.)
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To: r9etb

I read it and laughed. So very odd that they’ve got everyone in there except Sarah. Read that page of polls. Pence, Romney... hilarious.


35 posted on 09/22/2010 2:31:46 PM PDT by ReneeLynn (Socialism is SO yesterday. Fascism, it*s the new black. Mmm Mmm Mmm.)
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To: 2ndDivisionVet

Whatever. You’re a true believer — nothing will change your mind in any case.


36 posted on 09/22/2010 2:32:44 PM PDT by r9etb
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To: ReneeLynn
I read it and laughed. So very odd that they’ve got everyone in there except Sarah. Read that page of polls. Pence, Romney... hilarious.

Read a few of the stories. She was there, she just didn't finish first. Hence, the "not a front-runner" tag.

37 posted on 09/22/2010 2:34:13 PM PDT by r9etb
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To: ansel12
Very nice. But approval is not support for a presidential run. As the article points out:

As is the case every month Sarah Palin is the most personally popular of the Republicans, with 66 percent viewing her favorably. She is followed by Huckabee at 60 percent and Gingrich and Romney at 57 percent.

The problem for Palin is that a smaller percentage of the people who like her personally support her for President than any of the other Republicans. 37 percent of the voters who like Romney also say he’s their choice for the 2012 nomination and the same is true for 32 percent who like Gingrich and Huckabee. But just 24 percent who see Palin positively on a personal level translate that to intent to vote for her.

All that can change, of course .... but right now you're edging toward unicorns and skittles territory.

38 posted on 09/22/2010 2:37:09 PM PDT by r9etb
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To: r9etb

And you’re a member of the PDS Posse and nothing will change that, it seems. Know this: If Governors Romney or Huckabee are the nominee, don’t look for me here anymore. I have a Galt’s Gulch.


39 posted on 09/22/2010 2:37:27 PM PDT by 2ndDivisionVet (I don't need a newspaper to know the world's been shaved by a drunken barber.)
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To: r9etb

I considered the sources. I know she was there. I just find it interesting...very interesting. Liberals telling us who we should elect again.


40 posted on 09/22/2010 2:38:09 PM PDT by ReneeLynn (Socialism is SO yesterday. Fascism, it*s the new black. Mmm Mmm Mmm.)
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To: ReneeLynn
I just find it interesting...very interesting. Liberals telling us who we should elect again.

What ... you want them to mention Palin in every headline or something? Sheesh.

The media didn't choose the first-place finisher, Republicans did. The reporters just reported the results.

41 posted on 09/22/2010 2:41:27 PM PDT by r9etb
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To: r9etb

Lol, right now Palin is positioned very well to take the Republican primary.

I don’t see that Mitt Romney and Mike Huckabee or any one else is better positioned.


42 posted on 09/22/2010 2:41:46 PM PDT by ansel12 ([fear of Islam.] Once you are paralyzed by fear of Mohammedanism...you have lost the battle.)
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To: 2ndDivisionVet

The Mittens Militia writes yet another Palin hit piece

If Sarah decides to run the election is hers to lose. She will trounce Mittens in the primary. Gingrich has NO chance. Pence? Well, maybe but if anything he will be Palin’s pick for. VP


43 posted on 09/22/2010 2:43:06 PM PDT by hattend (Like a termite to wood, Obama only wants to destroy - Mark Levin)
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To: r9etb

Darling, don’t you find it strange that they’d poll your average Republican or average Repub voter, and that the majority would say Pence? Honest to goodness? Pence? The man has nearly nil name recognition and yet...Pence.

I question WHO they questioned. Polls can be skewed to get the desired results of the pollster.


44 posted on 09/22/2010 2:47:02 PM PDT by ReneeLynn (Socialism is SO yesterday. Fascism, it*s the new black. Mmm Mmm Mmm.)
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To: onyx

GOP: 84/9
DEM: 14/81
INDY: 59/27
Conservative: 80/12
Moderate: 28/61
Liberal: 14/85

Clearly, that polling proves the point that is terrifying both the Democrats and RINOs.

Independents are not moderates.

45 posted on 09/22/2010 2:54:11 PM PDT by meadsjn (Sarah 2012, or sooner)
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To: ReneeLynn

You, too, are edging into unicorns and skittles territory.


46 posted on 09/22/2010 2:57:18 PM PDT by r9etb
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To: hattend
On Fox News' Red Eye last night, Ambassador John Bolton did not disavow a run for the White House, which, in my mind, puts him in the race for her VP pick.
47 posted on 09/22/2010 3:08:06 PM PDT by 2ndDivisionVet (I don't need a newspaper to know the world's been shaved by a drunken barber.)
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To: meadsjn

Moderate: 28/61

Those people didn’t want to admit to being liberals...LOL.


48 posted on 09/22/2010 3:09:15 PM PDT by onyx (If you support Sarah and want on her Ping List, let me know!)
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To: r9etb

No dear. I’m not. What I said made sense. It’s just that you’re very anti-Palin. I know from many Palin threads. And when you can’t put up a decent argument for your point you anti-Palin people resort to talking about skittles and unicorns.


49 posted on 09/22/2010 3:16:47 PM PDT by ReneeLynn (Socialism is SO yesterday. Fascism, it*s the new black. Mmm Mmm Mmm.)
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To: ReneeLynn
What I said made sense.

Nope. What these number say is that there's a difference between liking Sarah Palin, and wanting her to be president.

The difference between Sarah Palin and Mike Pence, for example, can be summed up by the fact that Pence can write and give a speech like this one. That's a damn-sight more presidential than a you-betcha-ing faux grizzly.


50 posted on 09/22/2010 5:42:23 PM PDT by r9etb
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