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What are your thoughts on this? (Sarah Palin)?

March 15th, 2011 12 comments

Five myths about Sarah Palin 1. Palin cost McCain the 2008 election. She didn’t. CNN’s 2008 national exit poll, for example, asked voters whether Palin was a factor when they stepped into the voting booth. Those who said yes broke for McCain 56 percent to 43 percent. With her by his side, McCain’s fundraising and support from conservatives improved.
2. Resigning as governor was rash. When Palin returned to Alaska , she confronted three problems. The political coalition on which she had based her governorship had collapsed. Her critics were using Alaska’s tough ethics laws to launch investigations into her behavior, sapping her finances and her energy. Finally, every time she traveled to the Lower 48, Alaskans criticized her for putting her political interests above the state’s. Palin’s solution was to resign. Her agenda stood a better chance of passing if Lt. Gov. Sean Parnell succeeded her as governor. As a private citizen, meanwhile, Palin could make enough money to pay her legal bills.
3. Palin and the tea party are destroying the GOP.The reality is that Palin and the tea party are saving the GOP by dragging it back to its roots and mobilizing conservative voters. Remember, by the time Palin arrived on the national scene, the Republican Party was depleted, exhausted and held in disrepute. An unpopular war in Iraq, an economy in recession and GOP corruption had driven away independents. Meanwhile, massive government spending and a liberal immigration policy had dispirited conservatives. In the wake of Obama’s historic victory, she and countless other grass-roots activists could have abandoned the GOP and turned the tea party into a conservative third party. They didn’t. They decided instead to refashion the Republican Party from the ground up, pressuring it to live up to its limited-government ideals. Now, two years after Obama’s win, Republicans have reaped major gains in the midterm elections. Palin and the tea party haven’t hurt the GOP one bit.
4. Palin is extreme. On many of the most important issues of the day, Palin holds positions that are squarely in the center-right of American political discourse. And many of those positions, not incidentally, are held by a large segment or even a majority of the public. For instance, neither the public nor Palin believes the stimulus worked. While most Americans may not share Palin’s views regarding "death panels," many join her in opposing Obama’s health-care overhaul. Over the past two years, Pew and Gallup surveys have tracked the public as it has moved to the right — not on just one or two issues but on a whole constellation of issues. Even on the controversial topics of abortion, guns and same-sex marriage, Palin is not far away from the center. A May 2009 Gallup poll, for example, found that a majority of Americans identified as "pro-life" rather than "pro-choice." In October 2009, Gallup measured record-low support for gun control. The public is divided on same-sex marriage, with about half the country joining Palin’s opposition.
5. Palin is unelectable. Without question, a Palin 2012 campaign would be an uphill battle. Palin is unpopular — massively so among Democrats, decisively so among independents. Even many Republicans don’t believe she’s ready to be president. But opinions can change. Look at the political resuscitations of Richard Nixon, Ronald Reagan and Hillary Rodham Clinton. If Palin works hard and runs an impressive campaign, wavering Republicans and skeptical independents may give her a second look. To earn that second look, she may need to find a big idea. It’s hard to become president without one. Reagan had supply-side economics and the end of detente with the Soviets. George W. Bush had compassionate conservatism and the freedom agenda. Obama had national unity and hope and change. At the moment, however, Palin still expresses her agenda mainly in negative terms, focusing on her opposition to Obama and the Washington establishment. She hasn’t defined her common-sense conservatism" in positive language. And she hasn’t found a unifying, exhilarating theme. Then again, she just might get along without one. After all, a presidential contest is a choice. The public might not love Palin. But by 2012, Americans might absolutely despise Obama. Two more years of a bad economy and an unpopular Afghan war and anything could happen.
Alvin….It is the "seasoned hand" that has resulted in the decline of America’s influence in the world. She could not do a worse job than Obama…. His bowing, scraping and pandering to every nation, including our enemies, not only has been a national embarrassment but has made us the "joke" of the world. Maybe a little fresh faced national pride, open and honest, is what our nation needs.
Governor Palin negotiated with a hard nose greedy oil industry and won a contract that even her severest critics say was a major win for the people of Alaska. She is plain speaking and honest….a refrehing change in American politics
Bobby…..I keep hearing she is "dumb"…..but none of her history would seem to support that conclusion…She had the highest approval rating for job performance of any governor in America…..she got straight A’s in school and was a member of the Honor Society….she earned a degree….. she has core principles which even when it is to her advantage….she won’t compromise. She is plain spoken, no vacillation or political double speak. Yes, she has made some gaffs…..misspoke…..but then so has President Obama…..and do not even mention the Vice President…..his gaffs are a national embarrassment and the stuff of which legends are composed

I think nothing about it.

I’m not obsessed with Sarah Palin.