The Palin Problem

I guess if America was stupid enough to elect Reagan and Bush TWICE, I guess they're stupid enough to elect Sarah Palin. Realistically, though, I do believe she is a flash in the pan. On the other hand, Obama's success has made me proud to be American and I believe that if he is elected, even the stupidest Americans will realize how much better off they are with a progressive government, and realize that they've been taken to the cleaners for so long by the Republican party.

Interesting article. However it does seem to miss the fact that this lady has no political intelligence. Would any party be willing to stake their future on someone whose claim to international policy fame is that she can see Russia. This whole VP affair is an affront to the intelligence of American voters. I would prefer candidates with political arguments not Barbie dolls with changeable outfits. Oh, by the way, I do like the pink outift, my favorite. What was McCain thinking or not? Wrong brain John.

Another entirely likely scenario is that Sarah Palin will turn out to be essentially Jesse Ventura in drag. A lot depends on what happens back in Alaska - and the signs are not so promising for SP - and how she handles things. About this latter uncertainty, her track record so far is also not inspiring, but what's really amazing about her fan base, though, is how little reality seems to matter! Nonetheless, I predict that in four years she will be an historical footnote - albeit one in red heels - and a joke to most Americans, "real" ones included.

Sarah Palin is a right wing nut job. When he loses, and he will lose, it will be largely due to those voters who abandoned him upon his choosing her as his running mate.

Interesting argument. However, it seems to underestimate the lack of intelligence of this woman. She should not be in politics. And I am not sure she qualifies as a hockey mom or dad as the case may be for many families looking towards unemployment in the future. McCain made a huge mistake when he picked a new comer with no political intelligence. Perhaps he was the one thinking with his head between his legs. Taht does seem to be his history

"Reinventing the Republican party from the right"??? How much farther to the right can they go? Any further to the right and Moosejaw Sarah will have to trade her go go boots for jack boots.

No matter what Palin does, nothing will make her curious, or articulate.
She's an ambitious woman, that has a smooth way of lying... and not dumb.
When she opened her mouth, and kept saying she has Foreign Policy experience, because Alaska is near Russia, even the low-information voter, realized there was no substance there.
Over the next few years, she'll be programmed to say things. She's very dangerous for this Country. We need intelligent, thoughtful leaders, not pre-programmed hypocritical, lying machines, who are good at slime politics.

Generally good analysis- though it appears that following this election disaster, Palin will be put out to pasture as have nearly every losing running mate in the past forty years (but Nixon)...Many believe that Senator McCain's pick exposed flaws in his judgement- a radical whom only the far right would vote for- albeit a large block of voters, but a group who wouldn't have voted for a democrat anyhow. One must wonder how much closer the race would have been had Mitt Romney, Mike Huckabee, or even Condi Rice been the chosen one. Sarah Palin is an embarassment ot politics- she may succeed as a model for Lenscrafter, a newscaster (she's great reading from a teleprompter) or the like, but she will find it hard simply to get reelected in a statewide office in Alaska.

It is also very important to understand how they system works and once Palin crosses the line and bucks the system, she is through. I also think she has a lot of explaining to do when she gets home. Troopergate isn't finished and becoming a more public figure will cause the Alaskian electorate to expect a lot more from her. It won't be business as usual in Alaska, now everyone knows what she doesn't know-before she became so public nobody knew or cared-now they do!

What you don't hear now, and will be part of the post-anaysis if Obama wins. Is the makeup of the US population. Non-Hispanic whites will only increase by 5 millon in the next 40 years while the US population will increase by 90 million. The diversity in the US is getting stronger not weaker. And in the long run any party will have to appeal to a wide diversity of voters. As that becomes clear to the GOP it will be hard to take positions with no long term prospects.

What you don't hear now, and will be part of the post-anaysis if Obama wins. Is the makeup of the US population. Non-Hispanic whites will only increase by 5 millon in the next 40 years while the US population will increase by 90 million. The diversity in the US is getting stronger not weaker. And in the long run any party will have to appeal to a wide diversity of voters. As that becomes clear to the GOP it will be hard to take positions with no long term prospects.

Lets face it, Palin is at best a light weight with very little experience in anything! She has little appeal to smart men and probably less to smart women, so why paint her as some kind of saviour?

Maybe she should stop "paling around" with Mac'daddy (the one who picked her with the brains between his legs instead of the one between his shoulders) she "might" have had a chance come 2012, and if you didn't know what your skirts costs then you shouldn't be thinking of trying to fix this country's budget next time around. I'd build Palin a bridge to Alaska but someone told me it would go nowhere and this article is scary, no wonder Pain in the ass is so popular this hollows eve.

Maybe she should stop "paling around" with Mac'daddy (the one who picked her with the brains between his legs instead of the one between his shoulders) she "might" have had a chance come 2012, and if you didn't know what your skirts costs then you shouldn't be thinking of trying to fix this country's budget next time around. I'd build Palin a bridge to Alaska but someone told me it would go nowhere and this article is scary, no wonder Pain in the ass is so popular this hollows eve.

For ten years I have been telling my best friend that there isn't a politician alive, who could be nominated for any national or state office, that could make me vote FOR Hillary Clinton!
...... and then the Republicans produce Sarah.

Ten days to the electoral college bloodbath!

I so hope this dismal theory is just words and the Christocratic world Palin will likely attempt to rebuild never rises above the muck that spawned it. I pray that people are so fed up with hate politics that next time they reject this vicious approach wholesale. But nasty, loser ideologies can never be discounted in a society where so many seem eager to cement personal identity by tearing down the identities of others.

Darman's essay offers valuable warning of the mess we can make if we lose our bearings again as a nation united and succumb to charismatic haters and dividers. Sarah Palin has proven clearly that she falls in that camp. As the conservative columnist David Brooks so eloquently put it, Palin is a "cancer on the Republican Party." I hope--pray--that people hear the urgent message in those words and reject the GOP's new Mooselini.

Sarah Palin has already started her anti-immigrant and???let's be frank here???racist run for President 2012. All those flattering endearments to largely white, rural audiences in Middle America???whom she calls the "true Americans." Who does she think she is fooling?

I think Palin will be dead in the water come Nov 5th. Palin managed to scare all those prodigal daughters of the Hillary camp firmly back into the Democratic tent.
There's no amount of schooling or coaching that can make her seem ready to run a country in 4 years. Plus, Palin's national persona (fair or not) has now been fixed. She'd be working overtime fixing that negative image.
With evidence showing that there are now more Democratic voters than GOP voters and that a large share of the voters are independent, it doesn't seem wise to try to use Palin--a far-right conservative--to rally the party.
The best thing the GOP can do is realize an error was made and cut their losses by booting Palin to the curb.