Sarah Palin: A Political Threat or a Crowd Magnet?

by Karl Gotthardt - albertacowpoke | February 15, 2010 at 05:25 am

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Sarah Palin, A crowd Magnet?

Sarah Palin has, without any doubt, the ability to draw a crowd. Despite many attempts to discredit her, the venues that she headlines, either during her book tour or at the Tea Party Convention, have drawn large crowds.

The former Governor of Alaska and Vice Presidential candidate seems to somehow threaten those that believe Sarah Palin will run for President in 2012.

Sarah Palin Not Qualified to be President (Public Perception)

Despite the angst that seems to prevail when thought of Sarah Palin's presidential aspirations are raised, 71% of Americans do not think she is qualified to be President. To change this, Sarah Palin would require a complete makeover. Even then it is doubtful that the public perception of Palin's qualifications would change.

Sarah Palin - Hate Her or Love Her

Sarah Palin has been dragged through the dirt by the Main Stream Media, the Left; Pro Choice and Feminist Groups. Others love her for her populist approach, thus her success with the Tea Party movement. The recent Tea Party Convention amply demonstrated welcome she received from that movement, while detractors were quick to bring forth criticism..

Presidential Aspirations

During the 18 months Sarah Palin has been on the national scene, with a failed attempt to win election on the McCain ticket, Palins' presidential aspirations have been subject of much debate. Speculation of her 2012 quest for President of the United States are not well founded. Palin will do a great job drawing crowds for those campaigning for the Presidency. Palin's quest for the Presidency are unlikely.

The perception, that she is not qualified, is well ingrained in the American voters psyche. While she may be a spokesperson against what some consider to be wrong with the Obama Administration, her chances to be elected are minimal.

It is also doubtful that Palin would put herself or her family through the attacks and smear campaign that would, no doubt, be waged. Take a deep breath, Sarah Palin will not be a candidate for President in 2012, Hillary Clinton is the greater threat to Obama.

If Palin harbors presidential ambitions, she has a huge mountain to climb. A new Washington Post-ABC News poll found that 71 percent of Americans do not think the politician who was Sen. John McCain's running mate in 2008 is qualified to be president.

Those numbers are so daunting that some Republicans who otherwise admire what she has accomplished doubt that she will run in 2012. Others say that unless she can transform attitudes dramatically, she cannot hope to win a general election. Still, GOP strategist Phil Musser said, "if she ran for president today, she would be the Republican nominee."

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cconyersjr

at 06:06 on February 15th, 2010

One must remember that Liberals or the entity known as the "Mainstream Media" did not put her on the national stage. She is an ambitious woman, who did well for Alaska, but bit off more than she could chew when it comes to national politics. She is as maligned and ridiculed as anyone else that does/says silly things in public. From her poor interviews, to quitting her governorship, and the latest writing notes on her hand incident, she continue to put herself into horrible positions. And people will start to take her seriously, when she starts to take herself seriously. She needs to do a bit more than show up at conventions with a snappy little speech, and do more than safe, softball interviews to compete out there. Obama did it (and I know that drives you people nuts, but it's true). Hillary did it. And someday soon, she'll have to do it too.

Say what you will about President Obama (and you people will, speaking of attacks and smear campaigns), she could never do a one-on-one with people that are on a different ideological plane than she is. That's a great place to start. Be a populous, but know the issues, know ho to talk about them, and be able to speak to people that may not believe what you believe. Soundbites, talking points, and snippy one-liners are great for rallies...but don't do a thing to promote a political movement.

Karl Gotthardt - albertacowpoke

at 06:06 on February 15th, 2010

I think that was the point of my story here. She will be great for attracting people to campaign rallies, but her chances of getting on the ticket are next to nil.

YankeeJim

at 07:20 on February 15th, 2010

There is no evidence that "she did well for Alaska" except for promoting moose stew in a can.

Karl Gotthardt - albertacowpoke

at 08:35 on February 15th, 2010

They eat, therefore they hunt. She did force Exxon though to do something with their land lease or lose it. She was also instrumental in an agreement for a gas pipeline from Alaska to the Continental U.S. As I said 71% of Americans don't think she is ready for Prime Time in the White House. So everyone can relax.

With Senator Evan Bayh now also retiring, it appears that many Democrats are jumping ship, I think I would be more worried about a primary challenge by Hillary Clinton.

Scott Brown is still on the radar too.