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- iHaveNet.com: Politics
by Kenneth T. Walsh
Sarah Palin (© Donna Grethen)
Some say she wants to run for president, but she has become one of the most polarizing politicians in the country
Sarah Palin continues to delight her fans, unsettle her adversaries, and perplex independent voters who aren't sure what to make of her. Through it all, the former Alaska governor remains one of the most polarizing politicians in the country, which is saying a lot, given how divided and hostile the political world has become.
Several recent events have prompted a renewed focus on the 2008 Republican vice presidential nominee.
Palin appeared on Jay Leno's Tonight Show. Palin attacked the portrayal of a cartoon character
with Down syndrome on the Fox animated comedy series Family Guy. In a
Palin's stand on this topic is a reminder that she gave birth to Trig even though she knew in advance that the
baby would have Down syndrome. Her supporters see this as an example of how Palin lived up to her moral position
against abortion. And even though she is now a paid commentator on
Another Palin event, however, contained a mixed message. In a recent appearance at the tea party convention of conservatives and populists in Nashville, Palin got strong approval from the crowd with her anti-President Obama speech, in which she mocked Obama's 2008 campaign themes by asking, "How's that hopey, changey thing working out for ya?"
But what caused the fuss was Palin being captured on camera referring to notes she had scrawled on her palm to help her get through a question-and-answer session. Her critics pounced, arguing that Palin is an intellectual lightweight who isn't ready for the presidency, a job that many grass-roots conservatives want her to seek in 2012.
She also seemed to get in former Vice President Dick Cheney's cross hairs. Appearing on
Cheney offered some veiled criticism. "I don't think a president can make a judgment like that on the basis of politics," he said. "The stakes are too high, the consequences too significant to be treating those as simple political calculations. When you begin to talk about war, talk about crossing international borders, you talk about committing American men and women to combat, that takes place on a plane clear above any political consideration."
Yet Palin continues to animate many conservatives with her homespun charm and her anti-Washington, anti-Obama rhetoric. Some Republican strategists say she appears to be trying to become, at minimum, a leader of the tea party movement and a power broker within the
But she has done little to reassure centrists that she is presidential material. As a celebrity politician, Palin can draw enormous crowds and presumably could raise lots of money from conservative donors for a presidential campaign if she decided to run. But her fortunes have declined with the general electorate. Seventy-one percent of Americans don't consider Palin qualified to be president, and 55 percent have an unfavorable view of her, according to the latest
"Sarah Palin is a performer," says a prominent Republican who has advised two presidents. "She has star quality, but she's content free. Her audience consists of the 25 to 35 percent [of Americans] who are totally disaffected, totally disenchanted." Palin defenders, however, say that she has much more potential than her critics think and that she realizes she needs to learn more about issues.
So far, it's clear that the former Alaska governor knows how to push the hot buttons of the right. The question is whether she can, or wants to, broaden her appeal to the center, where most presidential elections are won.
Available at Amazon.com:
The Political Fix: Changing the Game of American Democracy, from the Grassroots to the White House
AMERICAN POLITICS
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Sarah Palin's Mixed Messages On Being a GOP Leader | Kenneth T. Walsh
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