This is kind of a catch-all thread, but with new opinion polls indicating Sarah Palin still enjoys a 73% approval rating among Republican voters, the likelihood of her re-emerging as a dominant figure in the coming mid-term and subsequent 2012 presidential election cycles is pretty substantial. Only Mike Huckabee's approval within the party rivals Palin's, and though Romney enjoys about an equal approval rating among all voters, he would have to survive a Republican primary first... and he currently enjoys only 44% among his own party.

Given the likelihood that Sarah Palin will continue to play a huge role in Republican politics beyond her time as Governor in Alaska, this article is absolutely riveting:

http://www.vanityfair.com/politics/...rah-palin200908

Of note:

There is talk of a reality television show within the Governor's mansion of Alaska.

She's signed a multimillion dollar book deal that gives her legitimate cover to continue avoiding the press.

Her behavior in Alaska continues to be as erratic as ever, demonstrated most notably by the creation of the Alaska Trust Fund, an organization set up to defray legal costs associated with the ethics cases Palin is indicted in - itself subject to an ethics investigation.

The fact that everyone who has worked with her within the Republican establishment seems to hate her, but nobody will dare say so publicly for fear of incurring her wrath... how in the world does she have this kind of power? Even devoted McCain staffers grimace and say nothing.

In any case, the most interesting portion of the article is, to me, the following rhetorical question:
"What does it say about the nature of modern American politics that a public official who often seems proud of what she does not know is not only accepted but applauded?"

Yes, what does it say about American politics, where 44% of the electorate still views her favorably, but more important - what does it say about the state of the Republican Party, where her approval is shared by nearly 3/4 of party members?

It's very difficult to imagine any Republican success coming on the shoulders of the Sarah Palin's and Rush Limbaugh's... and yet, the "moderate" mainstream voices within the Party are falling one by one, as a result of failure to perform (lol Jindal is Kenneth the Page) or too much success in performing (lol Sanford loves latinas). How many Republicans have seen their aspirations cut short while still in their political infancy (lol Vitter dresses prostitutes like babies)?

It's absolutely fascinating to me to watch a Party that has received so many body blows (lol Larry Craig bathroom parlance) attempt to rise like a Phoenix around this beauty queen with a penchant for dropping jaws everytime we find out more about her.

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I hope the Republicans do front her as a presidential candidate. That will ensure a second Obama term. Hope for the best. The worst enemy of the Republicans is themselves.

In all honesty... there's something about her that is still terrifying. She is this perfect storm of political faults, and yet she inspires more fervent support among the bastion of anti-liberal middle America than any mainstream candidate before her.

As Chris Good writes: "Purdum's article reads like a post-mortem, but it's not: Palin's political fortunes are still very much alive. A recent round of polling showed Palin neck and neck with Mike Huckabee as the most popular politician among Republicans nationwide.

As noted by John Bitney, a lobbyist and former aide who helped get Palin elected as governor in 2006--another of the former associates with mixed, emotional feelings about Palin--she started her gubernatorial run with a small band of ardent conservatives at her back, and expanded her support base from there.

Bitney tells Purdum it looks like she might try to do the same nationally in 2012:

"What it looks like to me she's trying to do is try the same formula that got her the governorship," John Bitney says. "You sort of start off with a conservative base. The right-wing base is obviously out on the far end of the spectrum, but it's a very motivated base. They show up, they're committed. It gets you that political beachhead. She did not get started with the blessing of the Republican Party. She started with a dedicated corps of sort of right-wing true believers who killed themselves for her, and got her going. And then she began to build on that, and after she crossed the primary hurdle, she moderated her message on some points.""

http://politics.theatlantic.com/200...tayin_alive.php

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quote:

Originally posted by yukii I hope the Republicans do front her as a presidential candidate. That will ensure a second Obama term. Hope for the best. The worst enemy of the Republicans is themselves.

woooo - not so fast speedracer. Obama has alot to prove. He is fumbling enormously on his business proposals (i.e., handling of business tax proposals, international trade issues, etc...), and in a few years when the stimulus results in significant inflation and government employees wages stagnate (so there many americans have a decline in real purchasing power), you may not be such a big proponent of his.

For me, an enormous issue is how he has handled the BRIC countries with respect to the rhetoric about reducing the dependence on the dollar as the world reserve currency. I'm sure you're not aware of how that's relevant, but in short, the main benefit is lower interest rates. For some it will not have much of an effect (i.e., the top 10% of americans will be relatively unaffected by a shift out of the dollar because they are safe credit risks), but for the bottom 90% who don't have an equity cushion or significant disposable income, there will likely be an increase in borrowing costs. This may be the biggest mishandling by obama, in my opinion. Obviously, the rhetoric is not really obama's fault, he inherited a huge deficit and a terrible economy, but he should be doing a better job at easing the fears of the chinese and russians.

quote:

Originally posted by jerZ07002 woooo - not so fast speedracer. Obama has alot to prove. He is fumbling enormously on his business proposals (i.e., handling of business tax proposals, international trade issues, etc...), and in a few years when the stimulus results in significant inflation and government employees wages stagnate (so there many americans have a decline in real purchasing power), you may not be such a big proponent of his.

I understand those concerns, now put Sarah Palin in his place and imagine where the fuck we'd be.

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quote:

Originally posted by ******** Seplling don't demonstrate intelligence and educatoin - knowing does.

quote:

Originally posted by Clovis I understand those concerns, now put Sarah Palin in his place and imagine where the fuck we'd be.

Seriously... the interviews of her former staffers from Alaska in that Vanity Fair article literally had me shivering.

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quote:

Originally posted by Lebezniatnikov Seriously... the interviews of her former staffers from Alaska in that Vanity Fair article literally had me shivering.

What is more frightening to me is the number of people who think she is actually very smart...

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quote:

Originally posted by ******** Seplling don't demonstrate intelligence and educatoin - knowing does.

quote:

Originally posted by Clovis I understand those concerns, now put Sarah Palin in his place and imagine where the fuck we'd be.

she wasn't running - the proper comparison would be against McCain, who i obviously don't think would do better. That doesn't mean we shouldn't expect more. Obama was clearly the best candidate, but that doesn't mean either was a good choice for economic issues. It seems like the choice is frequently who isn't the worst candidate on certain issues. Although, i like obama's foreign policy stance and the way he ended bush's slow repeal of environmental protections.

quote:

Originally posted by jerZ07002 she wasn't running - the proper comparison would be against McCain, who i obviously don't think would do better. That doesn't mean we shouldn't expect more. Obama was clearly the best candidate, but that doesn't mean either was a good choice for economic issues. It seems like the choice is frequently who isn't the worst candidate on certain issues. Although, i like obama's foreign policy stance and the way he ended bush's slow repeal of environmental protections.

I agree with you, but I also know that he inherited one of the most difficult economic situations any president has faced in the last 50 years.

The point is Sarah Palin is a front runner for the next Republican ticket and she is completely and utterly inept.

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quote:

Originally posted by ******** Seplling don't demonstrate intelligence and educatoin - knowing does.

quote:

Originally posted by Clovis I agree with you, but I also know that he inherited one of the most difficult economic situations any president has faced in the last 50 years. The point is Sarah Palin is a front runner for the next Republican ticket and she is completely and utterly inept.

I could accept a mitt romney as US president, but if that woman somehow becomes US president I would seriously consider moving to london, toronto, or vancouver for the length of her term, if i could secure employment in any of those locations. Perhaps my current job would grant me a secondment to an english speaking country. i know people say these things all the time, but palin being elected would run counter to almost everything i stand for and for pure principle i would move out of country (thus, contributing as little as possible to the US treasury and her administration).

quote:

Originally posted by jerZ07002 woooo - not so fast speedracer. Obama has alot to prove. He is fumbling enormously on his business proposals (i.e., handling of business tax proposals, international trade issues, etc...), and in a few years when the stimulus results in significant inflation and government employees wages stagnate (so there many americans have a decline in real purchasing power), you may not be such a big proponent of his. For me, an enormous issue is how he has handled the BRIC countries with respect to the rhetoric about reducing the dependence on the dollar as the world reserve currency. I'm sure you're not aware of how that's relevant, but in short, the main benefit is lower interest rates. For some it will not have much of an effect (i.e., the top 10% of americans will be relatively unaffected by a shift out of the dollar because they are safe credit risks), but for the bottom 90% who don't have an equity cushion or significant disposable income, there will likely be an increase in borrowing costs. This may be the biggest mishandling by obama, in my opinion. Obviously, the rhetoric is not really obama's fault, he inherited a huge deficit and a terrible economy, but he should be doing a better job at easing the fears of the chinese and russians.

The average American doesn't give a damn about anything you just wrote. Hence, bad leaders can still win elections. Obama has "the commoners" on his side.

quote:

Originally posted by Krypton The average American doesn't give a damn about anything you just wrote. Hence, bad leaders can still win elections. Obama has "the commoners" on his side.

unfortunately, you are absolutely correct. i like to think americans will become wiser as i get older. I see the light, however, and realize that the only thing that changes is my age.