I suppose we don't have to worry about what will happen to Sarah Palin once he goes off to the big house, now. That's going to be one tough row for Mark Begich, though. I bet he'll spend a lot of time in Washington.
That's good. Although, the sensationalist in me would've really enjoyed the dramatics of this election season lengthened towards an arc of Sarah Palin runnin' for the Senate.
Though by and large, i'll really be glad when Alaskan politicians are out of the news cycle again. Hopefully this is the last week or two of constant coverage of either Stevens or Palin.
That's good. Although, the sensationalist in me would've really enjoyed the dramatics of this election season lengthened towards an arc of Sarah Palin runnin' for the Senate.
Though by and large, i'll really be glad when Alaskan politicians are out of the news cycle again. Hopefully this is the last week or two of constant coverage of either Stevens or Palin.
I agree. I'm glad Alaska will go back to being the sleepy state again.
Unfortunately, living in Georgia, I have to keep watching political attack ads until our Dec. 2nd runoff At least we have enough racists in office to keep the media buzzing with the latest politically incorrect jaw dropper. I wish we could just go back to being famous for a nearly good baseball team.
He got bought off by an oil company. Nice to know he has the interest of the Alaskan people at heart. Real stand up guy! Don't feel to bad, it just proves our Government is still capable of deterring corruption. As a convicted felon he will receive full medical for the rest of his life, and a pension adjusted for inflation. Paid for by the people he so courageously served.
No question this is a setback for Palin's Presidential aspirations, if she has any (wink, wink - nudge, nudge). But it is not a fatal blow by any stretch of the imagination. First of all, she has a re-election campaign coming up in 2010. That's obviously going to receive national attention. And if she wins in a landslide, as I expect she probably will, that will still leave her in a strong position to run in 2012. That's the exact route Bush followed to the Whitehouse in 2000. She's gotten big enough now, that she will receive periodic coverage anyway.
Secondly, in 2012, Obama will not be the fresh face he was this year. He is actually going to have to preside. And if he presides in the manner that I expect he will, from the far left, he should be vulnerable. His pick of Hillary Clinton to be his Sec of State telegraghs that. By appointing her to that post, he eliminates his only potential rival from the Democratic Party if he really screws up. Now if the country perceives that he has done a good job, incumbancy will be his friend. Only time will tell.
The biggest setback for Palin not getting the US Senate seat is that hurts her chances for getting any foreign policy experience. She can still work on that on her own, but it will be a bit harder.
You have to like her tenacity and spirit, I'll give her that. Her problem is she only appeals to the core of the party, and it's the core of the party that is dragging it down. If she can diversify her appeal she will be dangerous.
You have to like her tenacity and spirit, I'll give her that. Her problem is she only appeals to the core of the party, and it's the core of the party that is dragging it down. If she can diversify her appeal she will be dangerous.
I'm not so sure. She gets most of her support from social conservatives. I see a new core emerging from the republicans. I suspect they will return to fiscal conservatism, and make concesions on some of the social issues. I really don't see how the republican party stands a chance in future elections unless they do. Social conservatives alone will not elect another president, ever.
You have to like her tenacity and spirit, I'll give her that. Her problem is she only appeals to the core of the party, and it's the core of the party that is dragging it down. If she can diversify her appeal she will be dangerous.
I disagree. McCain ran as a moderate (not a political strategy, he actually is a moderate) and lost. In 1994, the Republicans swept into power on conservative principles. In the succeeding years, they strayed from those principles and were voted out in 2006. In 1980, Ronald Reagan ran as a conservative (again not a strategy, he actually was conservative) and won in a landslide. He presided as a conservative and won an even bigger victory in 1984.
In its attempt to expand it's "tent", the Republicans watered down the conservative message and it has hurt them. Conservatism works when it's adhered too and has a standard bearer. Newt Gingrich was that standard bearer in 1994. Will Sarah Palin become the next standard bearer for conservatives? Don't know. Again, time will tell.
You have to like her tenacity and spirit, I'll give her that. Her problem is she only appeals to the core of the party, and it's the core of the party that is dragging it down. If she can diversify her appeal she will be dangerous.
I disagree. McCain ran as a moderate (not a political strategy, he actually is a moderate) and lost. In 1994, the Republicans swept into power on conservative principles. In the succeeding years, they strayed from those principles and were voted out in 2006. In 1980, Ronald Reagan ran as a conservative (again not a strategy, he actually was conservative) and won in a landslide. He presided as a conservative and won an even bigger victory in 1984.
In its attempt to expand it's "tent", the Republicans watered down the conservative message and it has hurt them. Conservatism works when it's adhered too and has a standard bearer. Newt Gingrich was that standard bearer in 1994. Will Sarah Palin become the next standard bearer for conservatives? Don't know. Again, time will tell.
I think the message has become to divisive and corruptive. All republicans run as fiscal Conservatives, but with the exception of Eisenhower and Reagan, lead as something else. Usually, they use social conservatism as a front for globalization. People are really tired of it and the population dynamics are moving against it.
I would have voted for the McCain of 94 in 08. I think it would have been better for the party if he had run that way. Either the party is whacked or he would have never got the nomination if he had, not sure which.
No question this is a setback for Palin's Presidential aspirations, if she has any (wink, wink - nudge, nudge). But it is not a fatal blow by any stretch of the imagination. First of all, she has a re-election campaign coming up in 2010. That's obviously going to receive national attention. And if she wins in a landslide, as I expect she probably will, that will still leave her in a strong position to run in 2012. That's the exact route Bush followed to the Whitehouse in 2000. She's gotten big enough now, that she will receive periodic coverage anyway. Secondly, in 2012, Obama will not be the fresh face he was this year. He is actually going to have to preside. And if he presides in the manner that I expect he will, from the far left, he should be vulnerable. His pick of Hillary Clinton to be his Sec of State telegraghs that. By appointing her to that post, he eliminates his only potential rival from the Democratic Party if he really screws up. Now if the country perceives that he has done a good job, incumbancy will be his friend. Only time will tell. The biggest setback for Palin not getting the US Senate seat is that hurts her chances for getting any foreign policy experience. She can still work on that on her own, but it will be a bit harder.
Obama aside, I highly doubt republicans like Romney, Huckabee and maybe even a prospective Jindal will simply let Palin waltz towards the nomination unchallenged. They're going to try and destroy her.
Her reigns over the Republican party are already loose enough as is; four years, even four MONTHS in Alaskan isolation is enough time for Americans to forget about her; 'least to the point people like Huckabee aren't afraid to utter a bad thing about her.
Palin received a much larger bad gripe than McCain, almost none of it from the Obama campaign, almost all of it from scarce few interviews and only one debate, and all within like ten weeks. All of her flubs were her own, and as a vice-presidential candidate, really none of those hundreds of millions of dollars of Obama's or the DNC's money went towards attacking her.
Should she throw her name into nomination in 2012, she's going to have to weather two dozen some debates across more than a year and a half of campaiging. She's fair game whereas she wasn't before.
Meanwhile, no one will be attacking Obama until after the convention, beyond sideswipes here and there from Republicans in the primary season I'm sure. Also, none of her old jabs will be relevant anymore. I imagine it'd be quite difficult to call a President a terrorist; Wright and Ayers will be irrelevant.
It's impossible to predict how Obama's campaign will go; if he'll do things to renew charges of "socialist", or gets caught kicking the new puppy with Ayers and Wright in the Oval Office, but one thing's for sure, Palin isn't going to get a six-figure amount of clothes and be escorted to the stage of the RNC unimpeded, there's hellfire for her.
Huckabee is already taking shots via his new book, and I figure this whole revival of the Republican party leading into the 2010 elections will cause many nominees to fire off shots early.
Originally posted by sepher Obama aside, I highly doubt republicans like Romney, Huckabee and maybe even a prospective Jindal will simply let Palin waltz towards the nomination unchallenged. They're going to try and destroy her.
Clearly her biggest problem. Talk about trying to break into the old boy's network. It doesn't get any tougher than that. I think that Senate seat was her best bet. She'll probably end up taking it from that Democrat in the next election.
Originally posted by sepher Obama aside, I highly doubt republicans like Romney, Huckabee and maybe even a prospective Jindal will simply let Palin waltz towards the nomination unchallenged. They're going to try and destroy her.
Her reigns over the Republican party are already loose enough as is; four years, even four MONTHS in Alaskan isolation is enough time for Americans to forget about her; 'least to the point people like Huckabee aren't afraid to utter a bad thing about her.
Palin received a much larger bad gripe than McCain, almost none of it from the Obama campaign, almost all of it from scarce few interviews and only one debate, and all within like ten weeks. All of her flubs were her own, and as a vice-presidential candidate, really none of those hundreds of millions of dollars of Obama's or the DNC's money went towards attacking her.
Should she throw her name into nomination in 2012, she's going to have to weather two dozen some debates across more than a year and a half of campaiging. She's fair game whereas she wasn't before.
Meanwhile, no one will be attacking Obama until after the convention, beyond sideswipes here and there from Republicans in the primary season I'm sure. Also, none of her old jabs will be relevant anymore. I imagine it'd be quite difficult to call a President a terrorist; Wright and Ayers will be irrelevant.
It's impossible to predict how Obama's campaign will go; if he'll do things to renew charges of "socialist", or gets caught kicking the new puppy with Ayers and Wright in the Oval Office, but one thing's for sure, Palin isn't going to get a six-figure amount of clothes and be escorted to the stage of the RNC unimpeded, there's hellfire for her. Huckabee is already taking shots via his new book, and I figure this whole revival of the Republican party leading into the 2010 elections will cause many nominees to fire off shots early.
I don't expect Palin to have a cake walk to the Republican nomination. In fact, I want her to be tested so she will be tougher in the general election. I'm not even 100% sure I would support her myself. Bobby Jindal, who you mentioned, is awesome. Probably more conservative than Palin. But he is so young, he has plenty of time to plan his political future. I think he should only attempt a run in 2012 if he sees a real shot at winning it all. If not, he'll have more chances.
Romney and Huckabee might try again, but I really don't see them as having legitimate chances. Huckabee was a bit of a sensation in the Iowa Caucus, but after that, his campaign was largely greeted with a yawn. Romney's campaign never really even caught fire. Neither one of them is really excting candidates. If Palin decides to run, my guess is they would be chasing her. Doesn't mean it's impossible, Clinton looked like the sure winner among the Democrats this year.
As far as her flubs go, I don't think they were hers. I think she was handled poorly by the McCain people, which as symptomatic of his entire campaign. They tried to shelter her when they should have let her run wild. Her confidence is apparent out on the trail. Let her make a few mistakes, her pluses would have overcome them.
Four years is a long way off and a lot can and probably will happen. But if I were a betting man, right now, I would say she is in the strongest position.
Their definitely going to have to make a place for Palin. She very effectively represents what the Republican Party is all about for many Women. They can't take that for granted.
As far as her flubs go, I don't think they were hers. I think she was handled poorly by the McCain people, which as symptomatic of his entire campaign. They tried to shelter her when they should have let her run wild. Her confidence is apparent out on the trail. Let her make a few mistakes, her pluses would have overcome them. It's obvious, to me at least, that the debate prep team was drilling her with talking points from day one. They set her up with Charlie Gibson and Katie Couric interviews to test the water and it backfired horrendously. That is why she wasn't available to the media. It was out of pure necessity. I'll give her this, she did much better at the debate than I was expecting. So, it isn't beyond the realm of possibility to think she could be far better prepared in four years. But honestly, I think the McCain camp handled her in the only way they possibly could - keep her under their thumb. She could literally have blown the entire campaign with a single sentence, and apparently, the McCain camp saw that as a distinct possibility, considering her lack of national political savvy and global exposure. Letting Sarah Palin run wild from the start would have imploded the campaign within hours.
Letting Sarah Palin run wild from the start would have imploded the campaign within hours.
I was willing to let your post go unanswered, Buzz, until you put in that last sentence. People within the McCain camp complained that Palin started going "rogue" during the campaign. Well, hell, that's when I thought she was the most effective. A perfect example was the little tiff they had over the Michigan issue. McCain decided to forfeit Michigan to Obama like in late September. They made that decision without telling Palin. And when she found out, she was disappointed. I was disappointed, most of McCain's supporters were probably disappointed.
Palin went on FOX news and admitted that she shot off an email to McCain's staffers and said, "Hey, let me and my husband go to Michigan. Let us walk through the factories and shake peoples' hands. And I thought, you know, McCain really needs to listen to her. That's the kind of enthusiasm his campaign needs. But no, not only did they forfeit Michigan, they announced it to the entire world. That pissed off a lot of Republicans in Michigan. If you are absolutely going to do it, at least keep your mouth shut about it.
I was willing to let your post go unanswered, Buzz, until you put in that last sentence. People within the McCain camp complained that Palin started going "rogue" during the campaign. Well, hell, that's when I thought she was the most effective. A perfect example was the little tiff they had over the Michigan issue. McCain decided to forfeit Michigan to Obama like in late September. They made that decision without telling Palin. And when she found out, she was disappointed. I was disappointed, most of McCain's supporters were probably disappointed. Palin went on FOX news and admitted that she shot off an email to McCain's staffers and said, "Hey, let me and my husband go to Michigan. Let us walk through the factories and shake peoples' hands. And I thought, you know, McCain really needs to listen to her. That's the kind of enthusiasm his campaign needs. But no, not only did they forfeit Michigan, they announced it to the entire world. That pissed off a lot of Republicans in Michigan. If you are absolutely going to do it, at least keep your mouth shut about it.
These things aren't even remotely what I'm talking about. Sarah Palin does a fine job of connecting with people.
What I'm saying is, she was not prepared to take a national stage, and answer questions of global concern. I'm sure the McCain camp did all they could to prepare her before the debate, and it showed, but to turn her loose prior to the absolute deadline would have been campaign suicide.
Be honest here, can you imagine her answering questions about:
the economy
the Iraq war
Sunni/Shia
Iran's nuclear program
Russia/Georgia, Israel/Palestine, Pakistan/India
national security
free trade
health care
A week after she was announced as the VP selection? Be honest, please. I don't hate the woman. I have stark differences with her and do not want to see her in a position of influence, but that doesn't dictate my opinion of why she was sheltered following the RNC.
It was obvious that prior to her selection, she had not seriously entertained the notion of holding a national office. That's not to spite her. There's absolutely nothing wrong with being focused on the job you have, and nothing to be used against someone who isn't running for a national office. I'm not saying she's stupid (and if I have in the past, it wasn't fair), I'm simply saying that she wasn't prepared, mainly because she never saw the need.
And plus, all of her ideas weren't HER ideas. Like the whole ordeal over attacking targets in Pakistan; she came out and agreed with Obama when asked by a passerbyer. Yeah it went down as "gotcha journalism", but she later went into an interview with McCain and stated how she was completely in-line with his views.
That sentiment was apart of the bigger idea of "two mavericks shaking up Washington". That's one more thing she loses short of an early McCain endorsement...like before the first primary contest endorsement. 'else she loses the whole "Maverick" thing too.
Really, nothing came out of her mouth except Ayers, Maverick, Ayers, Maverick. Obama loses a lot of his stigmas and Palin loses a lot of her benefits. That's how I see it right now.
Even the whole "18 million cracks in the ceiling" thing she exploited and sent McCain 6 points up in the polls after the convention; that's lessened by the lack of an angry Hillary mob in 2012, but you could argue, and I would too, that Palin will have a sound female following of her own if she's at the top of a ticket next time around.
Mostly though, I don't see it. I don't think she'll get pass Huckabee and Romney. They're going to bring up her husband's Successionist connections and all that.
We'll see though what kind of growth in the national spotlight Palin can manage from Alaska, but three years is a long time to remain relevant after peaking in fame within ten weeks, less than that when the polls started turning sour on her, way less than that when the media went negative.
Be honest here, can you imagine her answering questions about:
the economy
the Iraq war
Sunni/Shia
Iran's nuclear program
Russia/Georgia, Israel/Palestine, Pakistan/India
national security
free trade
health care
On some of those issues, I could have seen her doing just fine. I'm sure I could have held my own on some of those myself. And she's a governor, so she's got to have at least a basic knowledge herself.
But part of the problem I think is that they got her wound up too tightly going into those interviews. It was obvious she was on the defensive from the start. In fact, the long delay in withholding her from the media gave them a chance to really prepare those tough questions. It's quite possible that if they had put her out there right from the start when she was a complete unknown, the press would have been more interested in learning about her background.
Plus there are things you can do to diffuse the media. Have the interview conducted on your terms, not theirs. The Gibson and Couric interviews were held in very formal settings. Sitting a chairs, face to face, almost as if they were interrogations. Contrast that with the Greta Van Sustren interview she did in Palin's home. If the McCain campaign had granted the press access to Palin, but done it on their terms, my guess is things would have gone smoother.
Palin was by far the best candidate out of the four (Obama, Biden, and McCain are all weaker on almost every issue). It's not even close. She has a very bright future in politics.
If Palin is the next bright, rising star in politics then this country is in serious trouble.
Palin was by far the best candidate out of the four (Obama, Biden, and McCain are all weaker on almost every issue). It's not even close. She has a very bright future in politics.
If Palin is the next bright, rising star in politics then this country is in serious trouble.
You are right when you say that this country is in serious trouble. But not because Palin is a rising star in politics. No, it's far more imminent than that. It's because Barack Obama has aleady been elected to be the next President. That by itself would be cause for concern. But compounding the problem is that he is going to have a Congress that will to try to rubber stamp every change he attempts to make.
Palin was by far the best candidate out of the four (Obama, Biden, and McCain are all weaker on almost every issue). It's not even close. She has a very bright future in politics.
If Palin is the next bright, rising star in politics then this country is in serious trouble.
This country is already in serious trouble, thanks to over half a century of moving in the wrong direction. She is the first politician since Reagan to be on the side of freedom, and against the red tide.
Palin was by far the best candidate out of the four (Obama, Biden, and McCain are all weaker on almost every issue). It's not even close. She has a very bright future in politics.
If Palin is the next bright, rising star in politics then this country is in serious trouble.
You are right when you say that this country is in serious trouble. But not because Palin is a rising star in politics. No, it's far more imminent than that. It's because Barack Obama has aleady been elected to be the next President. That by itself would be cause for concern. But compounding the problem is that he is going to have a Congress that will to try to rubber stamp every change he attempts to make.
Palin Following Bush......That sound like pretty serious trouble to me (and most Americans BTW). Maybe we could have Joe the Plumber as Secretary of State. I think this whole thread overlooks the point that the Republicans have to groom a whole new generation of contenders and leaders. Will Palin be apart of that it's hard to say, but she will have to move to the middle if she wants to survive what the RNC has to do.
Palin was by far the best candidate out of the four (Obama, Biden, and McCain are all weaker on almost every issue). It's not even close. She has a very bright future in politics.
If Palin is the next bright, rising star in politics then this country is in serious trouble.
You are right when you say that this country is in serious trouble. But not because Palin is a rising star in politics. No, it's far more imminent than that. It's because Barack Obama has aleady been elected to be the next President. That by itself would be cause for concern. But compounding the problem is that he is going to have a Congress that will to try to rubber stamp every change he attempts to make.
Palin Following Bush......That sound like pretty serious trouble to me (and most Americans BTW). Maybe we could have Joe the Plumber as Secretary of State. I think this whole thread overlooks the point that the Republicans have to groom a whole new generation of contenders and leaders. Will Palin be apart of that it's hard to say, but she will have to move to the middle if she wants to survive what the RNC has to do.
Actually, Bush and McCain were moves to the middle. Epic fail. Bush spent like the most liberal of democrats, the base turned against him, and he became the most unpopular president in history. McCain was never even close to being a conservative.
If they RNC continues to cater to the middle, they will continue to lose.
Comments
Then the hammer drops!
Stevens loses senate seat.
I suppose we don't have to worry about what will happen to Sarah Palin once he goes off to the big house, now. That's going to be one tough row for Mark Begich, though. I bet he'll spend a lot of time in Washington.
That's good. Although, the sensationalist in me would've really enjoyed the dramatics of this election season lengthened towards an arc of Sarah Palin runnin' for the Senate.
Though by and large, i'll really be glad when Alaskan politicians are out of the news cycle again. Hopefully this is the last week or two of constant coverage of either Stevens or Palin.
I agree. I'm glad Alaska will go back to being the sleepy state again.
Unfortunately, living in Georgia, I have to keep watching political attack ads until our Dec. 2nd runoff
At least we have enough racists in office to keep the media buzzing with the latest politically incorrect jaw dropper. I wish we could just go back to being famous for a nearly good baseball team.
Term limits would definitely help,the advantages out-ways the disadvantages.
It was nice to see Palin nail Stevens for sure.
Yes the Republicans eat their own unlike the Dem's which embrace the corrupt.
Trade in material assumptions for spiritual facts and make permanent progress.
He got bought off by an oil company. Nice to know he has the interest of the Alaskan people at heart. Real stand up guy! Don't feel to bad, it just proves our Government is still capable of deterring corruption. As a convicted felon he will receive full medical for the rest of his life, and a pension adjusted for inflation. Paid for by the people he so courageously served.
No question this is a setback for Palin's Presidential aspirations, if she has any (wink, wink - nudge, nudge). But it is not a fatal blow by any stretch of the imagination. First of all, she has a re-election campaign coming up in 2010. That's obviously going to receive national attention. And if she wins in a landslide, as I expect she probably will, that will still leave her in a strong position to run in 2012. That's the exact route Bush followed to the Whitehouse in 2000. She's gotten big enough now, that she will receive periodic coverage anyway.
Secondly, in 2012, Obama will not be the fresh face he was this year. He is actually going to have to preside. And if he presides in the manner that I expect he will, from the far left, he should be vulnerable. His pick of Hillary Clinton to be his Sec of State telegraghs that. By appointing her to that post, he eliminates his only potential rival from the Democratic Party if he really screws up. Now if the country perceives that he has done a good job, incumbancy will be his friend. Only time will tell.
The biggest setback for Palin not getting the US Senate seat is that hurts her chances for getting any foreign policy experience. She can still work on that on her own, but it will be a bit harder.
You have to like her tenacity and spirit, I'll give her that. Her problem is she only appeals to the core of the party, and it's the core of the party that is dragging it down. If she can diversify her appeal she will be dangerous.
I'm not so sure. She gets most of her support from social conservatives. I see a new core emerging from the republicans. I suspect they will return to fiscal conservatism, and make concesions on some of the social issues. I really don't see how the republican party stands a chance in future elections unless they do. Social conservatives alone will not elect another president, ever.
I disagree. McCain ran as a moderate (not a political strategy, he actually is a moderate) and lost. In 1994, the Republicans swept into power on conservative principles. In the succeeding years, they strayed from those principles and were voted out in 2006. In 1980, Ronald Reagan ran as a conservative (again not a strategy, he actually was conservative) and won in a landslide. He presided as a conservative and won an even bigger victory in 1984.
In its attempt to expand it's "tent", the Republicans watered down the conservative message and it has hurt them. Conservatism works when it's adhered too and has a standard bearer. Newt Gingrich was that standard bearer in 1994. Will Sarah Palin become the next standard bearer for conservatives? Don't know. Again, time will tell.
I disagree. McCain ran as a moderate (not a political strategy, he actually is a moderate) and lost. In 1994, the Republicans swept into power on conservative principles. In the succeeding years, they strayed from those principles and were voted out in 2006. In 1980, Ronald Reagan ran as a conservative (again not a strategy, he actually was conservative) and won in a landslide. He presided as a conservative and won an even bigger victory in 1984.
In its attempt to expand it's "tent", the Republicans watered down the conservative message and it has hurt them. Conservatism works when it's adhered too and has a standard bearer. Newt Gingrich was that standard bearer in 1994. Will Sarah Palin become the next standard bearer for conservatives? Don't know. Again, time will tell.
I think the message has become to divisive and corruptive. All republicans run as fiscal Conservatives, but with the exception of Eisenhower and Reagan, lead as something else. Usually, they use social conservatism as a front for globalization. People are really tired of it and the population dynamics are moving against it.
I would have voted for the McCain of 94 in 08. I think it would have been better for the party if he had run that way. Either the party is whacked or he would have never got the nomination if he had, not sure which.
Obama aside, I highly doubt republicans like Romney, Huckabee and maybe even a prospective Jindal will simply let Palin waltz towards the nomination unchallenged. They're going to try and destroy her.
Her reigns over the Republican party are already loose enough as is; four years, even four MONTHS in Alaskan isolation is enough time for Americans to forget about her; 'least to the point people like Huckabee aren't afraid to utter a bad thing about her.
Palin received a much larger bad gripe than McCain, almost none of it from the Obama campaign, almost all of it from scarce few interviews and only one debate, and all within like ten weeks. All of her flubs were her own, and as a vice-presidential candidate, really none of those hundreds of millions of dollars of Obama's or the DNC's money went towards attacking her.
Should she throw her name into nomination in 2012, she's going to have to weather two dozen some debates across more than a year and a half of campaiging. She's fair game whereas she wasn't before.
Meanwhile, no one will be attacking Obama until after the convention, beyond sideswipes here and there from Republicans in the primary season I'm sure. Also, none of her old jabs will be relevant anymore. I imagine it'd be quite difficult to call a President a terrorist; Wright and Ayers will be irrelevant.
It's impossible to predict how Obama's campaign will go; if he'll do things to renew charges of "socialist", or gets caught kicking the new puppy with Ayers and Wright in the Oval Office, but one thing's for sure, Palin isn't going to get a six-figure amount of clothes and be escorted to the stage of the RNC unimpeded, there's hellfire for her.
Huckabee is already taking shots via his new book, and I figure this whole revival of the Republican party leading into the 2010 elections will cause many nominees to fire off shots early.
Clearly her biggest problem. Talk about trying to break into the old boy's network. It doesn't get any tougher than that. I think that Senate seat was her best bet. She'll probably end up taking it from that Democrat in the next election.
I don't expect Palin to have a cake walk to the Republican nomination. In fact, I want her to be tested so she will be tougher in the general election. I'm not even 100% sure I would support her myself. Bobby Jindal, who you mentioned, is awesome. Probably more conservative than Palin. But he is so young, he has plenty of time to plan his political future. I think he should only attempt a run in 2012 if he sees a real shot at winning it all. If not, he'll have more chances.
Romney and Huckabee might try again, but I really don't see them as having legitimate chances. Huckabee was a bit of a sensation in the Iowa Caucus, but after that, his campaign was largely greeted with a yawn. Romney's campaign never really even caught fire. Neither one of them is really excting candidates. If Palin decides to run, my guess is they would be chasing her. Doesn't mean it's impossible, Clinton looked like the sure winner among the Democrats this year.
As far as her flubs go, I don't think they were hers. I think she was handled poorly by the McCain people, which as symptomatic of his entire campaign. They tried to shelter her when they should have let her run wild. Her confidence is apparent out on the trail. Let her make a few mistakes, her pluses would have overcome them.
Four years is a long way off and a lot can and probably will happen. But if I were a betting man, right now, I would say she is in the strongest position.
Their definitely going to have to make a place for Palin. She very effectively represents what the Republican Party is all about for many Women. They can't take that for granted.
I was willing to let your post go unanswered, Buzz, until you put in that last sentence. People within the McCain camp complained that Palin started going "rogue" during the campaign. Well, hell, that's when I thought she was the most effective. A perfect example was the little tiff they had over the Michigan issue. McCain decided to forfeit Michigan to Obama like in late September. They made that decision without telling Palin. And when she found out, she was disappointed. I was disappointed, most of McCain's supporters were probably disappointed.
Palin went on FOX news and admitted that she shot off an email to McCain's staffers and said, "Hey, let me and my husband go to Michigan. Let us walk through the factories and shake peoples' hands. And I thought, you know, McCain really needs to listen to her. That's the kind of enthusiasm his campaign needs. But no, not only did they forfeit Michigan, they announced it to the entire world. That pissed off a lot of Republicans in Michigan. If you are absolutely going to do it, at least keep your mouth shut about it.
These things aren't even remotely what I'm talking about. Sarah Palin does a fine job of connecting with people.
What I'm saying is, she was not prepared to take a national stage, and answer questions of global concern. I'm sure the McCain camp did all they could to prepare her before the debate, and it showed, but to turn her loose prior to the absolute deadline would have been campaign suicide.
Be honest here, can you imagine her answering questions about:
A week after she was announced as the VP selection? Be honest, please. I don't hate the woman. I have stark differences with her and do not want to see her in a position of influence, but that doesn't dictate my opinion of why she was sheltered following the RNC.
It was obvious that prior to her selection, she had not seriously entertained the notion of holding a national office. That's not to spite her. There's absolutely nothing wrong with being focused on the job you have, and nothing to be used against someone who isn't running for a national office. I'm not saying she's stupid (and if I have in the past, it wasn't fair), I'm simply saying that she wasn't prepared, mainly because she never saw the need.
And plus, all of her ideas weren't HER ideas. Like the whole ordeal over attacking targets in Pakistan; she came out and agreed with Obama when asked by a passerbyer. Yeah it went down as "gotcha journalism", but she later went into an interview with McCain and stated how she was completely in-line with his views.
That sentiment was apart of the bigger idea of "two mavericks shaking up Washington". That's one more thing she loses short of an early McCain endorsement...like before the first primary contest endorsement. 'else she loses the whole "Maverick" thing too.
Really, nothing came out of her mouth except Ayers, Maverick, Ayers, Maverick. Obama loses a lot of his stigmas and Palin loses a lot of her benefits. That's how I see it right now.
Even the whole "18 million cracks in the ceiling" thing she exploited and sent McCain 6 points up in the polls after the convention; that's lessened by the lack of an angry Hillary mob in 2012, but you could argue, and I would too, that Palin will have a sound female following of her own if she's at the top of a ticket next time around.
Mostly though, I don't see it. I don't think she'll get pass Huckabee and Romney. They're going to bring up her husband's Successionist connections and all that.
We'll see though what kind of growth in the national spotlight Palin can manage from Alaska, but three years is a long time to remain relevant after peaking in fame within ten weeks, less than that when the polls started turning sour on her, way less than that when the media went negative.
On some of those issues, I could have seen her doing just fine. I'm sure I could have held my own on some of those myself. And she's a governor, so she's got to have at least a basic knowledge herself.
But part of the problem I think is that they got her wound up too tightly going into those interviews. It was obvious she was on the defensive from the start. In fact, the long delay in withholding her from the media gave them a chance to really prepare those tough questions. It's quite possible that if they had put her out there right from the start when she was a complete unknown, the press would have been more interested in learning about her background.
Plus there are things you can do to diffuse the media. Have the interview conducted on your terms, not theirs. The Gibson and Couric interviews were held in very formal settings. Sitting a chairs, face to face, almost as if they were interrogations. Contrast that with the Greta Van Sustren interview she did in Palin's home. If the McCain campaign had granted the press access to Palin, but done it on their terms, my guess is things would have gone smoother.
Palin was by far the best candidate out of the four (Obama, Biden, and McCain are all weaker on almost every issue). It's not even close.
She has a very bright future in politics.
fishermage.blogspot.com
If Palin is the next bright, rising star in politics then this country is in serious trouble.
If Palin is the next bright, rising star in politics then this country is in serious trouble.
You are right when you say that this country is in serious trouble. But not because Palin is a rising star in politics. No, it's far more imminent than that. It's because Barack Obama has aleady been elected to be the next President. That by itself would be cause for concern. But compounding the problem is that he is going to have a Congress that will to try to rubber stamp every change he attempts to make.
If Palin is the next bright, rising star in politics then this country is in serious trouble.
This country is already in serious trouble, thanks to over half a century of moving in the wrong direction. She is the first politician since Reagan to be on the side of freedom, and against the red tide.
fishermage.blogspot.com
If Palin is the next bright, rising star in politics then this country is in serious trouble.
You are right when you say that this country is in serious trouble. But not because Palin is a rising star in politics. No, it's far more imminent than that. It's because Barack Obama has aleady been elected to be the next President. That by itself would be cause for concern. But compounding the problem is that he is going to have a Congress that will to try to rubber stamp every change he attempts to make.
Palin Following Bush......That sound like pretty serious trouble to me (and most Americans BTW). Maybe we could have Joe the Plumber as Secretary of State. I think this whole thread overlooks the point that the Republicans have to groom a whole new generation of contenders and leaders. Will Palin be apart of that it's hard to say, but she will have to move to the middle if she wants to survive what the RNC has to do.
If Palin is the next bright, rising star in politics then this country is in serious trouble.
You are right when you say that this country is in serious trouble. But not because Palin is a rising star in politics. No, it's far more imminent than that. It's because Barack Obama has aleady been elected to be the next President. That by itself would be cause for concern. But compounding the problem is that he is going to have a Congress that will to try to rubber stamp every change he attempts to make.
Palin Following Bush......That sound like pretty serious trouble to me (and most Americans BTW). Maybe we could have Joe the Plumber as Secretary of State. I think this whole thread overlooks the point that the Republicans have to groom a whole new generation of contenders and leaders. Will Palin be apart of that it's hard to say, but she will have to move to the middle if she wants to survive what the RNC has to do.
Actually, Bush and McCain were moves to the middle. Epic fail. Bush spent like the most liberal of democrats, the base turned against him, and he became the most unpopular president in history. McCain was never even close to being a conservative.
If they RNC continues to cater to the middle, they will continue to lose.
fishermage.blogspot.com