Saturday, April 23, 2011

Palin & Otherwise

President Obama's administration has been such a juggernaut of disasters that it's difficult to for me to imagine that he will be reelected on merit. Public opinion polls have shown his approval ratings to be low compared to the numbers seen in many previous administrations, though I tend to think that given the liberal nature of some of the polling organizations, his actual approval among voters is lower than reported.  In polls where voters are asked to pick Obama against a generic Republican opponent, he generally runs even or slightly above, which can't be good news to the politicos in the White House.

Still, the problem in defeating the President is that he won't be running against a generic opponent--he'll be running against a living politician, who may or may not be skilled enough and lucky enough to beat him.  Whoever the Republicans nominate will have a tough campaign to run, given that the Democrats and the liberal media will spare no expense, and, if the last three years are any guide, do just about anything without shame to ensure that Obama is reelected.

We're beginning to see jockeying for advantage going on among possible candidates, including some very unlikely candidates. Charles Krauthammer and other journalists are beginning to seriously survey the field. I'm not going to go into that sort of thing here, but I think that what we're seeing shape up on the Republican side so far is a contest between establishment favorites and those who will be attempting to prevail without the aid of the Republican establishment, commonly called "outsiders."

In spite of being both a governor and vice presidential candidate as a Republican, Sarah Palin is clearly at odds with the Republican establishment and is probably the least likely of the top tier candidates to be supported by the likes of Karl Rove or the national GOP.  She also has been the most effective in throwing the White House off its stride and in general making the left nuts to the point where they engage in extreme and embarrassing behavior, whether they realize it looks that way or not.

In her "comeback" speech at the Wisconsin tea party rally on April 16, she clearly outlined her differences with not only the President, but the leaders of her own party in the Congress as well.  I found her raised voice in the speech a bit hard to listen to, but she was trying to be heard over hundreds of leftists in the crowd showing their civility and tolerance by screaming obscenities and making whatever other noise they could in hopes of silencing her, so she probably didn't have much choice in that.  Her speech was cheerfully combative, and she was clearly making a point in choosing to speak in Madison, site of the recent mob madness by union members and their leftist supporters.

Palin for some reason inspires strong opinions in many people.  No one really knows whether or not she intends to run for President, in spite of the tendency of some journalists and commenters to declare her unlikely to run, a case of wishful thinking if ever I've seen it.  I don't think the Republican primary campaign will really begin in earnest until she announces her decision.  It seems to me it will be difficult for the other candidates to map out an effective strategy without knowing her decision, and I think their efforts to raise money will also be stymied until her intentions are revealed.

I think that if Sarah Palin chooses to run, the other candidates and their allies in the party establishment will have a difficult time defeating her.  If she does manage to win the nomination, it will have been after a fierce fight, and she will come out of the nominating convention looking very strong indeed.  The White House will of course attempt to make her an object of ridicule, but I doubt they'll have much luck at that, and what they'll have on their hands instead is a serious battle in which Palin won't feel any of the reservations against attacking Obama that plagued the McCain campaign in 2008.

11 comments:

  1. I thought the Madison Speech was prefect including her raised voice, a must when you're speaking from the belly of the beast!

    And compared to "uh, um... you know, and uh... you know... let me be perfectly clear... uh" I'll take Palin voice hands down.

    Karen in Michigan

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  2. Totally agree...and when Palin runs against Obama, the media and his team will try to smear her record like they did last time (lack of imagination), but it won't work because the media has spent the last 3 years doing this and she is still here. She has taken their "medicine" and is now immune and she has them to thank.

    Obama doesn't have the enthusiasm he did in 2008. He won't be Mr. Cool on the trail, as he has to become Mr. Agitator to get his base motivated. He will be fighting $5 gas, 10% unemployment, looming debt crisis, and the media won't give him the same pass as last time. 95% of them will, but that 5% is still stinging from their love affair in 2008 and will actually ask him some follow-up questions. After the 2nd debate, this will be done. Palin-West

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  3. Have you ever knocked a man's voice in an opinion piece. Knock it off with the voice bull. By bringing up the voice it means you have played into the meme put out by the corrupt MSM.

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  4. When Palin chooses to get into the race. People will be shocked at the rally of the silent majority. Palin will field an army that will roll over all the lefty's and the repub est. I am one warrior who will answer the call and look forward to it. Don"t lecture Sarah about her voice. She had the courage to walk into the belly of the beast. And her tone was pitch perfect.

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  5. Anonymous the IInd: I don't like listening to raised voices, male or female. You'll notice in the same sentence I spoke of demonstrators "screaming obscenities," doubtless there were members of both sexes in that contingent.

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  6. This was a good article and a positive one. We shouldn't worry about the voice comment - it was honest - and what I took from the article was that her message was well worth listening to. I wish other writers could get past the superficial and move onto thoughtful analysis the way DOugh Fletcher did.

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  7. Sorry - I meant Doug! that was a typo!

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  8. Good points Doug.

    About Gov Palin's Madison delivery - she did well indeed considering the weather and the deranged leftists screaming ..... sure her voice was elevated, and for that reason - but remember her perfect delivery at the RNC Convention back in 08, nobody complained about her voice that day!

    What I heard in her voice at Madison, was substance, truth, passion, and fearlessness ....

    .... 2012 is gonna be some battlefield folks, and I fear for the mentally unstable PDSers ..... LOL, there may need to be waiting lists compiled for the couch space in therapy clinics throughout Elitistsville when Hurricane Sarah makes landfall ....... standby for the booking on BAM to leak out .... hopefully in the not toooooooooooooooooooooooooo distant future (but there may be yet a month or two to wait) *__*

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  9. I really liked alls comments spot on,She will be the 45th president and the rest is a sideshow but it makes for excellent drama wouldnt you say?Nothing like throwing a 5 gallon can of gas into the fire.thats why "THEY" are fighting tooth and nail to not get their lolipop taken away from them BooHoo.but to touch on another topic breifly.What would a pres.palin cabinet look like? john bolton, michelle bachmann,rebecca mansouir,maybe even hilary clinton where she is and you could go on and on.To be assured whoever they will be we can trust our presdent to do whats right

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  10. Good article and interesting comments. I'd agree with the author's observation on her voice but it came through amazingly well given what I've read about the attempts by the Progressive rent-a-mob to celebrate the free speech of no one but themselves. And a common complaint regarding Tea Party events like this is the lack of a decent sound system. Not the case this time! RE: potential cabinet picks - Bolton as SOS would set the diplomatic world on its ear in a way that's been a long time coming. Hillary? I sure as hell hope not. If you look into her background, she turns out to be every bit as radical as the Bamster covered up by the sheen of "do and say anything to gain power". I agree with those who think that Sarah will run, win, and go a long way to getting our country back on a course that it hasn't really known for some 100 years.

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  11. Sarah Palin is the anti-Obama.
    The Mommy vs. the Commie
    Sarah Palin 2012

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