“Palin is actually more popular, though not by too much, than Reagan was in 1978. Only after the New Hampshire debate (”I paid for this microphone”) did Reagan begin to pull away from Bush.”
Reagan was a non entity as the 1980 campaign began. He was well known, but the press had created an impression that he was too conservative and then added “too old” and “too stupid” to the mix. Bush was the new guy on the block and the favorite from January onward, after winning Iowa. Reagan was the underdog and thought to be on his last legs in New Hampshire. That’s when the “I’m paying for this microphone Mr. Green”(sic) reference changed the dynamics of the race. The press was intellectually honest enough to report it back then. They would ignore it now.
My point is that Sarah is well known. Her polling and potential is probably better than Reagan’s actual popularity in 1978. Very few people would have given odds he would have been elected as the next president. Walter Cronkite and the palace guard said everyone was a liberal each night on the news, and they said that any conservative presidential candidate would be trounced like Goldwater.
The press was relaxing with margaritas believing that the country was going to elect Ted Kennedy.
The joke was on them. It may be again.
Conservatives should just get behind Sarah now and not let anyone else sabotage her progress.