Posted on 05/19/2011 7:15:48 PM PDT by SeekAndFind
Jimmy Carter never said “malaise,” Humphrey Bogart never said, “play it again Sam,” and Sarah Palin never said, “I can see Russia from my front porch.” But most people are convinced they did. As Yogi Berra quipped, “I never said most of the things I said.”
The caricaturing of Palin has led many political observers to cavalierly dismiss her chances of entering the 2012 GOP field — and winning. My question is…why?
At least one pundit sees the opportunity. Appearing on MSNBC’s “Andrea Mitchell” show Monday, Time magazine’s Mark Halperin noted that Mike Huckabee’s decision to skip the 2012 GOP primary, “leaves a big hole for Sarah Palin who can come in and take over that space that Huckabee left.”
A new Gallup poll seems to confirm his analysis. As The Washington Post’s Chris Cillizza writes,
the field remains decidedly muddled with no clear frontrunner. (Gallup doled out the past support for Huckabee/Trump based on the second place preferences of those voters.) Former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney takes 20 percent to 18 percent for former Alaska governor Sarah Palin …
Putting this in context, we now know that: 1). Mike Huckabee, a populist social conservative who won Iowa in 2008, isn’t running, and 2). Gallup has Sarah Palin in second place — just two points behind Mitt Romney. It is frankly stunning that — this late in the game — Palin still has a golden opportunity to win the nomination. (We also know, as the polling implies, the weak GOP field lacks a clear front runner to rally behind.)
And yet…conventional wisdom seems to hold that Palin will not run — and even if she does — she can’t win. The assumption is that Palin isn’t serious enough. Once again, I think she is being underestimated.
These assumptions continue to inform the way news stories about Palin are framed. For example, media observers recently began noticing that Palin wasn’t garnering quite as much press attention as before. This was largely portrayed as a sign that her influence may finally be waning — but was that necessarily the right conclusion?
Controversy often generates attention, and while the media were busy covering Donald Trump’s ridiculous antics this spring, Palin was delivering serious speeches in places like Wisconsin – and visiting vitally important nations like Israel and India. This was under-reported.
Also worth noting is that Palin was recently the “star” guest at Tammy Haddad’s garden brunch (for those outside the Beltway, this is the “who’s who” gathering of political insiders and muckety-mucks, held annually to coincide with the White House Correspondents Dinner). Palin’s attendance was reminiscent of another outsider, Ronald Reagan, who railed against DC elites, but attended dinner parties at Washington Post publisher Kay Graham’s house. The old Palin would probably not have attended this “lamestream” media event – the new Palin did.
Of course, it’s too early to know whether any of this foreshadows a presidential run, but consider this: If Palin were serious about running for president, isn’t buttressing her foreign policy credentials by traveling and building bridges with at least some media elites — precisely what she ought to be doing? Keep in mind, going back to Alaska, she has never run a conventional campaign — she always started late and was the underdog. And the good news for Palin is that she has more room for reinvention and growth than most people might realize.
Her supporters raise a good point when they argue she is “the most known, unknown” figure in politics. What they mean is that, despite how ubiquitous she became, she never really had a chance to craft her own image. (During the campaign, Palin was second to Sen. John McCain and, by necessity, had to adopt his campaign’s policies. And by the time the campaign ended, the media had already created the next iteration of the Palin brand.)
Don’t discount the possibility that Palin may indeed be on the verge of launching her second (or is it third?) act. It is entirely plausible to believe that Palin could seize this opportunity, win Iowa and South Carolina, and then make a real run for it. Don’t be surprised if she runs for president, and if she does, she can win.
“She needs to start speaking like a serious person.Literally.”
I totally agree, she has too much of an image of a televsion personality - Alaskan outdoor adventurer, and a squeaky one at that.
Are you one of zero’s pied pipers
Is this how all of Palin’s supporters argue?
Defaulting to the lowest common denominator with graphics? Cuz putting your thoughts into words is just too hard for you, or something?
Yes... I was sent here to FR almost 10 years ago to register and lay in wait for this day... of course this was after I completed my first mission which was to infiltrate Hawaii and plant Obama's birth certificate into the archives to be used later...
plymaniac stated: Who should I vote for?
Suppose Sesame Street are graphics required, or should we rephrase the question in Crayon?
Frankly, I prefer discussing issues, as opposed to candidate personalities. Even Candidate Ron Paul brings good points to the debate. So how about leaving the personality cult stuff to the MSM, paultards, and other DUmpster divers.
TMMT is childishly looking for another RWR, when in fact, there will never be another RWR, but Sarah Palin’s principles, values and viewpoints come very close to RWR’s.
TMMT pronounces her unelectable, and not too smart, much the same way the idiot naysayers and media polls pronounced RWR unelectable and a dunce, in his day.
To be completely fair, RWR was a two term, very successful governor of our most populated state, yet he was derided for being from the land of fruits and nuts and called a washed-up Hollywood B actor, a divorced man, and a former democrat!!
Sarah Palin is our American girl next door, college educated, with a degree in journalism, mother of five, grandmother of one, former governor of our largest state, an expert in energy, pro-life; pro Second Amendment; pro Liberty; and if she enters the race, she will no doubt win the GOP nomination and go on to try her level best to win the White House.
If she can’t win, then no Constitutional, conservative can. She has withstood the onslaught of media hate and smears like no other and she is standing stronger than ever.
Run Sarah Run!
Need to get your facts straight. Sarah Palin was the acting Gov. of Alaska when she was chosen as John McCain's running mate. She had been successful, and had enjoyed much popularity in her office. After the election in 2008, she returned to the Gov's office full time, fully intending to complete her term. The Democrat party, especially one person who had worked in Obama's election campaign, began to file nuisance lawsuits against her, in an official, as well as a personal capacity. Because these lawsuits were taking up her time, as well as that of her staff, in addition to costing the State money in dealing with them, Sarah decided that it would be better for her to vacate the office than keep causing undue financial pressures on the state, her family, and the families of members of her staff. She left the office in the hands of her Lt. Gov., who shared her political ideas, and who she knew would continue the progress she'd made in the State.
Obviously you think it's a deal breaker, but at the time of her resignation, the people of Alaska understood her decision completely. The lawsuits had only begun AFTER the election in 2008, and after she resigned, the nuisance lawsuits halted. So it was obvious that the ONLY reason they were ever filed was to cause political upheaval in Sarah Palin's work, and was clearly done at the behest of the Democrat Party in the State of Alaska.
ROTFL!
Pretty sure that's supposed to be "you're," there, genius. Something I knew before 2nd grade, in fact. Sarah knows it, too. She and I both had teachers for parents. I take it you did not.
As for my own intelligence, Mensa claims my I.Q. is 160-plus. I have no reason to doubt them. By the same token, your apparent inability to master simple gradeschool grammar augers somewhat less convincingly on your behalf.
But, hey, look at the bright side... imagine how boring this world would be if we were all geniuses. The world needs "sanitation engineers," too!
8^D
Neither is someone (who supports her) going to vote against Sarah just because, as you so aptly cite, people feel badly for the truly pitiable Magical Mischief Tour bonehead.
This election isn't about personalities, in case you missed it. It's about saving our Republic from total destruction. Only the truly numb-domed are so vapid as to assume that another might throw away a vote to save their country over some adolescent peeing contest they saw on FreeRepublic.
So save your stern, avuncular admonitions and phony crocodile tears for some vastly more gullible chump. I don't doubt you both know plenty of them.
;^\
Well if you had a 160 IQ you would know that “you’re” is always a contraction of “you are.”
So for me to have said “you are argument”... Would be silly not to mention incorrect.
If you’ve written “you’re,” try substituting “you are.” If it doesn’t work, the word you want is “your.”
But with a 160 IQ I’m sure you knew this, right?
Genius...
That certainly puts a blaze-orange highlighter on the fact that I.Q. is an entirely
separate measure of the mind than common sense or wisdom doesn't it? LOL
Add reading comprehension to *your* skills that need improvement.
Gargantua clearly bolded the your, that you misused in the sentence:
I guess that’s why your (you are) so enthralled with Sarah,......
Good night.....LOL.
Sorry, that issue isn’t important when it comes to what we are facing.
At least Michele had the guts to go on Snuffleupagus’s show.
The illegal problem won’t be solved by anyone who thinks Juan McCain has it right on immigration.
She remained governor throughout the campaign; she didn't leave the governorship in order to seek the VP nomination as you claim. She left AFTER a coordinated campaign by Dem operatives to destroy her personally, which sought to take advantage of a loophole in Alaska law: said loophole allowed virtually ANYONE to sue the Governor, and the Governor was required by law to fund all of the defense out of her own pocket.
Not to mention the state resources to comply with discovery and records requests made a significant ding on the resources of a sparsely-populated state (therefore relatively small bureaucracy) such as AK.
The lawsuits included such nuisance trivialities as Todd Palin wearing a logo on a windbreaker (when he had done such for years and years), meals for the kids when traveling hundreds of miles across the state with their mother, and her setting up a legal defense fund which she carefully pre-vetted with lawyers and modeled on other politicians' legal defense funds which had already passed muster. Not to mention the possibility that there were already extant "fake" defense funds designed to siphon money away from Palin's supporters -- so they tried to get Sarah in trouble for calling hers "official" meaning "Sarah helped set this up, it's the REAL one" -- but her opponents claimed that this implied official state sponsorship, so they forced her to disband it and refund all the money.
Name another politician in US history -- a sitting governor, no less? -- who had to endure this bullsh*t.
Then compare with the overt corruption in Dem cesspools such as Chicago, Philly, New Jersey, New York, Baltimore, ...
And you call her and her supporters stupid, because she chooses a populist approach in public speaking?
You , Sparky.
PS -- what is your PhD in, and from what school?
Dipsh*t Troll.
Cheers!
no offense, but you are just wrong...
As in "I guess that's why 'you are' so enthralled..."
Please, check post 70, then go hang your head like a good douchebag. Good God, but you people are as thick as snot!
As to "I.Q.", it stands for "Intelligence Quotient," yet another pretty-much meaningless and self-serving attempt on the part of mankind to pigeonhole and categorize that of which he has no real understanding; a self-stroking gesture intended to provide temporal if manufactured succor to his fragile, insecure and easily-bruised ego. It refers to a "potential for" intelligence, but renders no opinion as to whether that "potential" is active or inert: hence but a throwaway term lacking all substance used to fool his more simply-gulled contemporaries.
Worse-still, given the unassailable logic of the prior, to want to know what your "I.Q." is is to basically ask what someone else (who can't possibly know the answer) what your intelligence level may or may not be—quite obviously, an urge borne of a blatant insecurity level demonstrably counterproductive in any environment or application.
That said, Mensa's tests are exhaustive, and clearly represent the state-of-the-art of man's penchant for superimposing his lack of knowledge in a futile attempt to define wisdom down to a human level which ignores the inevitable primacy of the one true Wisdom, which is that of God alone.
"To fear the Lord your God is the beginning of Wisdom."
Sine qua non. Douchebag.
8^\
And we're supposed to worry that they might not vote for the one candidate who can save this great nation?! If we succeed in this, and we will, we'll be saving America as much from O'Bunghole and his cabal of neo-Marxist terroristas as we are from the likes of these numb pantloads, who couldn't find a smart choice or their rumps with both hands.
Un-flipping-believable.
;^\
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