User Comments

1. 

   7/15/09

   anticsrocks

   No. A third party would only serve to elect more statists.

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2. 

   7/15/09

   polybore

   Palin will most probably drift off into obscurity. Unless she can come up 3 years worth of stunts to keep her name in the papers, few will remember her by 2012.
   
   Having resigned as Governor she does not appear to have any more stunts in the bag.
   
   The sad fact is Palin was plucked from obscurity by McCain and despite the terrible beating she has had under the glare of global publicity she seems to have acquired a taste for it. Perhaps the experience has gone to her head? Deluded though she may be, it is clear that she thinks of Alaska as too small pond for a big fish.

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3. 

   7/15/09

   Agit8r

   I don't know if she has the follow-through to complete a campaign, but she's probably preferable to Pawlenty, Perry, or Barbour.

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   1. 

      7/15/09

      anticsrocks

      Regardless of what one thinks of her - she, nor anyone else could effectively build a campaign for President from the great state of Alaska. It is just too geographically removed from the the mainland.
      
      Add to the fact that now that she is a civilian, the muckrakers who want to press made up ethics charges against her now have to pony up money, and one can see why she did what she did. It was a smart move for more than one reason.
      
      She is intelligent, holds traditional conservative views, is pleasing to the eye and has a presence on the stage, or behind the podium as the case may be. I think the reason she came off less than stellar during the campaign is twofold.
      
      1. The mainstream media gave her a very rough time. Waiting like vultures to pick on each and every word she misspoke. For example, she told a grade schooler, I think the child was 8 years old a very simplified version of what the Vice President does. The media took that and ran with it, saying she didn't even know what her job would be if McCain won. On the other hand, Obama said he had been to "all 57 states." The media was strangely silent on that. Imagine if you will, that Palin had made that faux-pas. As was said above, she was picked from relative obscurity and thrust into the limelight. A difficult proposition no matter which side of the aisle you sit on. Due to McCain waiting so long, she basically had to hit the ground running.
      
      2. First hand accounts at the McCain rallies testified to the political star power that Palin wields. McCain's handlers became wary of that, and therefore they joined in the effort to malign her. To his detriment, McCain did not put a stop to it, and he should have. It would have made him look like a leader and actually, I think, scored points with the GOP base.
   2. 

      7/15/09

      satijournal

      Also, she didn't have the "Department of Law" to help her, like the president has. She'll probably go vacation in the "country of Africa" where she can read all the newspapers and magazines. Or maybe do some more photo ops wearing waders on a fishing boat, but she better not fall overboard because her waders will fill up with water and she'll drown. That's why nobody else around her or any real fishermen wear waders on a boat.
   3. 

      7/16/09

      anticsrocks

      And those are SUCH IMPORTANT issues, sati. *rolls eyes*
   4. 

      7/16/09

      Agit8r

      @Sati,
      
      i can see the headline now...
4. 

   7/15/09

   Agit8r

   the other 7 "states" were likely:
   
   District of Columbia
   Puerto Rico
   U.S. Virgin Islands
   Marshall Islands
   American Samoa
   Guam
   Northern Mariana Islands
   
   As for Palin, her best bet is to run for legislature in 2010

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5. 

   7/15/09

   jhixon2

   Palin will be huge because the media hates her.

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6. 

   7/15/09

   clioandme

   It depends what her goals are. If she wants to hold office, then no, she should not leave the party. If, on the other hand, she wants to influence the national conversation on issues that are important to her, leaving the party might give her more room in which to do that. And she's already laid the groundwork with all her "maverick" appearances with McCain.
   
   Besides politics, however, there is money. Maybe she wants to earn some real money, and why not? Does she want to put up with fundraising rules? Or would she rather try to play the game of someone like Rush, but more attractive? I don't know what she has up her sleeve, but making some real money is part of it. Could be that speaking engagements and the (probably ghostwritten) book will do it for her in terms of money, and this is all creating buzz for that, but maybe she wants more.

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   1. 

      7/16/09

      Agit8r

      since celebrity status is important when running for the presidency anymore...
   2. 

      7/16/09

      clioandme

      But presidents don't make any real money, and the job would get boring after awhile, you know, like happened to her during her current gig.
   3. 

      7/16/09

      Agit8r

      right, and fishing is crappy in the Patomac
7. 

   7/16/09

   jeremyjanson

   Nah. She has so much influence in the GOP that she can, within reason, steer it any direction she wants except for a few that she wouldn't want to steer it anyways. She's generally a conservative with some populist sympathies, and it's not like she's the first Republican to hold those views - traditionally that described much of the party, and many candidates are still in that vein. If she gets educated and learns what she didn't know the first time around there is nothing in this world that can stop her and if she and the GOP argue, SHE will win.

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8. 

   7/16/09

   clioandme

   John Stewart was on vacation when Palin resigned, but now his July 13th response is online: www.hulu.com/watch/82776/the-daily-show-with-jon-stewart-mon-jul-13-2009#s-...

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9. 

   7/17/09

   andyroo312

   This is an easy one - Palin's core base is White Evangelicals. Are these folks hardcore, right-wing Republicans or could-vote-for-a-Dem Independents? If you say the latter, you need help.

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