Despite Successful Endorsements, Palin’s Own Prospects Remain Dim

Sarah Palin has done pretty well at helping Republicans win primaries this year, but her own political popularity isn't any better than it was after she left office last year.

It’s been a fairly good primary season for Sarah Palin, most recently with the surprise performance of Joe Miller in Alaska, but her own personal political prospects aren’t nearly as rosy as the people she’s endorsed:

Almost three out of five Americans believe former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin (R) would not be an effective president, a new poll found Monday.

59 percent of U.S. adults said they don’t think Palin, the 2008 Republican vice presidential candidate and potential 2012 candidate, would be an effective president of the United States.

26 percent of adults, by contrast, said they believe Palin would be effective, according to a 60 Minutes/Vanity Fair poll conducted earlier this August.

(…)

Even Republicans — and conservatives within the GOP — appear split over whether Palin would be well-suited to occupy the nation’s top political office.

Republicans on balance believe, 47-40 percent, that Palin would be an effective president. 41 percent of conservatives said they thought Palin would do well in the White House, while 40 percent said she would not — a close margin among those within the GOP who are seen as Palin’s base of support.

If Palin were to run for president in 2012, she might also face difficulty in winning over independents, 63 percent of whom told the poll that Palin would not have the ability to be effective in the Oval Office. 21 percent of independents said Palin would have those skills.

It’s numbers like this that make me think that Palin won’t run for President, only because any rational person looking at numbers like this would realize that they have no chance of winning a General Election. Especially when their unfavorable numbers have only gone up the longer they’ve been in the public eye:

But then, Sarah Palin hasn’t exactly shown a proclivity for behaving like a traditional, rational politician, so anything is possible at this point. If she does run, it’s sure to be an unconventional campaign, unlike anything the Republican primaries have ever seen, which is why any kind of “stop Palin” movement among the GOP establishment may be too little, too late.

FILED UNDER: *FEATURED, 2010 Election, 2012 Election, US Politics, , , ,
Doug Mataconis
About Doug Mataconis
Doug Mataconis held a B.A. in Political Science from Rutgers University and J.D. from George Mason University School of Law. He joined the staff of OTB in May 2010 and contributed a staggering 16,483 posts before his retirement in January 2020. He passed far too young in July 2021.

Comments

  1. Brummagem Joe says:

    Dim in the political sense (now that’s a serendipitous word in this context) but not in the (much more important to her) pecuniary one surely? In order to sustain her earning capacity she has to maintain the charade that she’s a serious political figure and since she’s attractive and has a family background that would make a great reality tv show, the media are only too happy to play along. In the wider country she keeps the base riled up and excited when she makes outrageous comments or shows up for huge fees, but in the wider electoral sense she has to be a negative for the GOP when 60% of the country thinks she’s a loon. The NYT had a piece up at the weekend by some female democratic activist berating the democratic party for “allowing” Palin to dominate the spotlight. I’d have thought they were delighted. And now on to more serious matters like Jennifer Aniston Topless.    

  2. Well, yes, you have a point.

    If you’re talking “success” in the monetary sense then her path is clearly laid out and will likely be rather successful and rewarding.

  3. Brummagem Joe says:

    “Well, yes, you have a point.”

    Trust me Doug, this will ultimately end up with Sarah Palin Topless.

  4. Wait till the Palinistas see Bristol in some of the costumes they wear on Dancing With The Stars

  5. Brummagem Joe says:

    “Wait till the Palinistas see Bristol in some of the costumes they wear on Dancing With The Stars”

    She’s certainly a comely girl not unlike her ma. Perhaps Bristol will end displaying her Bristols at the same time as her ma in a oh so tasteful VF spread. 

  6. sam says:

    “If Palin were to run for president in 2012, she might also face difficulty in winning over independents, 63 percent of whom told the poll that Palin would not have the ability to be effective in the Oval Office.”
    That’s the crux, right?  I don’t think she has any hope of ever capturing the independents, and they are becoming, if are not already, the determining factor in presidential elections. The independent vote strikes me as an attempt of counterbalance the tendency to the extreme in the Democratic and Republican bases. The more she appeals to the Republican base, the more she dilutes whatever support she has with the independents.

  7. Smooth Jazz says:

    LOL, Mt Mataconis finally has a poll to suit his biased viewpoint<LMAO>. CBS/Vanity Fair?? Are you kidding Fin me. Home of Katie Couric and “Todd “NY Times Pogrum”. Among the most left wing biased organization commision a poll to “push” their agenda, and you buy it hook line & sinker<LOL>. I think I’ll let the real voters decide if and when she runs, rather than relying on “journilist” types.

  8. Brummagem Joe says:

    Smooth Jazz says:
    Monday, August 30, 2010 at 09:49

    One of the judges on Dancing with the Stars?  

  9. Hey SJ,

    If you can find a single poll that contradicts the findings of this one — that says that a majority of Americans think Palin is qualified for the Presidency and that independents don’t reject her 2-1 — let me know.

  10. Smooth Jazz says:

    <Hey SJ,
    If you can find a single poll that contradicts the findings of this one — that says that a majority of Americans think Palin is qualified for the Presidency and that independents don’t reject her 2-1 — let me know.>

    I understand approx 20% said Barack Obama was qualified to be President in a Feb 2007 poll. I don’t pay attention to this type of poll – Especially a poll commisioned by Vanity Fair & CBS, organizations well known in their bias against Gov Poll – 2 years before the election . It is like a Dialy Kos poll saying the same thing.

    One other point – Why are there so many polls asking that about Palin and not any other candidate??

    Let’s see how things shake out in 2011. Polls this early only serve to drive traffic at blog sites and to reinforced preconceived notions.

  11. ponce says:

    Palin has earned the right to play the Bob Dole against Obama in 2012.

  12. narciso says:

    One you realize that was Tina Fey, on that cover, two, this is possibly the most illinformed of the surveyors, being off during the election by some eight to ten points, because one works from the most unrepresentative sample and work down erroneously. A proper poll would have been do you agree with many of the principles she has expoused over the last two years.

  13. ponce says:

    “If you can find a single poll that contradicts the findings of this one”
     
    If you go to this chart at the pollster site you can mouse over the dots to see the individual poll results:
     
    http://www.pollster.com/polls/us/fav-palin.php

  14. reid says:

    SJ: I barely knew who Obama was in Feb 2007.  I know way too much about Palin now.  I agree about early polling, but that’s hardly a fair comparison.

  15. Herb says:

    Smooth Jazz seems to be Sarah Palin’s target demographic.  Shown a poll that shows some negatives for Mama Grizzly and well, obviously that can’t be right.  Who did this poll?  The Lamestream Media?  Well, obviously it doesn’t count because everyone knows the Lamestream Media has a left wing bias.
     
    It’s Sarah Palin logic.  Which bears no resemblance to actual logic, or –dare I say– actual thinking.

  16. Hee hee, Doug, keep whistling past the graveyard.  It is going to be funny in 2012 seeing you and James conjure up principled reasons for supporting Palin over Obama when she gets the nomination.  I really think the reason you guys keep posting this “Palin can’t win” stuff is that you are both desperate to avoid facing the choice of voting for her or voting Dem.  But that is, indeed, where we will end up.  And sadly, given the near-certainty now of a double-dip recession, whomever the GOP nominates will sail to victory in 2012.  President Palin.  Get used to it.

  17. It is going to be funny in 2012 seeing you and James conjure up principled reasons for supporting Palin over Obama when she gets the nomination.

    I won’t speak for James but I am fairly certain you won’t see me doing that, any more than you would have seen me making the case for John McCain in 2008. And no, I didn’t vote for Barack Obama either.

    President Palin.  Get used to it.

    I can see it now. Every Presidential Address ends with “You betcha”

     

  18. Zelsdorf Ragshaft III says:

    Well Herb, your line of thinking put a communist in the White House.  No?  Read his books.  Look who he sought out as professors and associates.  Read Alinsky and try to understand the Clower-Piven strategy  Looks to me like which ever candidate wins the GOP nomination will be President in 2012.  Obama’s record speaks for itself.  All that is necessary is to run on that record.  Palin does to you what Reagan did to his opponents.  Speak the truth to the American people.  Not like Joe Biden who clearly claims the economy is improving.  He was as accurate about that as he was about the Iraq war.  Here in the echo chamber, opposition to Palin seem the norm.  You should have seen her Saturday.  To you sick minded adolesents who obsess on Palin’s body parts.  I’ll take that bet BJ about Palin appearing topless.  Name it coward.  May you be forced to have intimate relations with Nancy Pelosi and Hillary Clinton. 

  19. floyd says:

    “” behaving like a traditional, rational politician,””
    “”””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””

     To quote Larry the cable guy….” I don’t care WHO you are…That there’s funny!’

  20. Zelsdorf Ragshaft III says:

    Bernard, let us meet back here Nov. 3, 2012 so we can help serve up the crow.  Maybe by that time Brummagem Joe, will have some photoshopped photos of Sarah topless to which he can endlessly amuse himself, as it will be President elect Palin by that time.  I think BJ has pictures of Obama topless postering his little bed room.

  21. reid says:

    Doug: Just curious and you obviously don’t have to answer, but who did you vote for in 2008?  Hold your nose and vote McCain/Palin?  Abstain, third party?  It must have been tough for a moderate Republican.  It’d be like a Democrat being asked to vote for a Kucinich/Sharpton ticket.  (I think Sharpton would at least be more serious than Palin.)
     
    Palin will never be President, even if she does decide to run.  Unlike Obama in 2007, people know her now and have basically made up their minds.  I can’t imagine any way that she could undo the damage she’s done in most people’s minds.

  22. Reid,

    I don’t mind answering. I voted for Bob Barr, who was running as the LP candidate in 2008. Not perfect by any means, but closer to my own beliefs that either of the two candidates of the main parties, and part of my ongoing protest against the Republican Party’s unfortunate habit of nominating crappy Presidential candidates. John McCain didn’t accomplish much in 2008, but he did prove that, yes, it is possible to run a worse Presidential campaign than Bob Dole did in 1996.

    The difference between Palin and Obama is precisely as you put it, people know her now and it’s very hard to change first impressions. I can’t find the link to it right now, but there’s a Gallup poll that came out over the summer that showed her approval/disapproval rating at something like 43 approve, 50 disapprove with almost nobody saying they didn’t know enough about her to form an opinion. I don’t see how she overcomes that.

     

  23. let us meet back here Nov. 3, 2012

    Three days before the election ? Why ? So we can all wonder why Sarah Palin isn’t on the ballot ?

  24. Brummagem Joe says:

    Zelsdorf Ragshaft III says:

    Monday, August 30, 2010 at 11:59

    “Maybe by that time Brummagem Joe, will have some photoshopped photos of Sarah topless to which he can endlessly amuse himself,”

    You provide all the amusement I could ever want Zels. La Palin topless doesn’t begin to compare with you in the humor dept.

  25. Brummagem Joe says:

    Doug Mataconis says:

    Monday, August 30, 2010 at 12:14

    “I don’t mind answering. I voted for Bob Barr, who was running as the LP candidate in 2008. Not perfect by any means,”

    You mean you abstained. I still think the funniest comment about Palin is Barney Frank’s. “She has 75% support in the Republican party……….and 100% support in the Democratic party.”   

  26. You mean you abstained.

    Do you think that someone who voted for McCain in, say, the District of Columbia where he had absolutely no chance to win “abstained” ? What about someone who voted for Obama in Utah ?

  27. floyd says:

    “unlike anything the Republican primaries have ever seen”
    ””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””’
    Remember B.O.’s  “unconventional”  “Coronation”?
    Without a first round delegate commitment and at least one round of voting before declaring their candidate, the Democrat “Primary” was Flimflam.

  28. JKB says:

    Republican nomination?  No, Palin will mount a grass roots campaign to challenge Obama in the Democrat primaries.  Right after she signs on as the spokesperson for the latest anti-anxiety drug.  That would be must see politics.
     

    Wait till the Palinistas see Bristol in some of the costumes they wear on Dancing With The Stars

    Yes. because none of the “Palinistas” could relate to having a 19-yr old daughter who might dress provocatively while competing in a very athletic event.  Or that a mother might not have absolute control of her adult daughter.
     
    Now if Dancing with the Stars could only get Andrew Sullivan to participate, then they’d have a season.  Of course, he’d need to dance with a baby on his back.

  29. reid says:

    From the little bit I heard of Barr at the time, I thought he was decent and quite reasonable.  Much better than the R clown show.  I was wary of his socon roots, though.  (This is from memory; I haven’t heard anything of him since.)
     
    These days, I’m also more wary of anyone that is strongly libertarian, such as the Pauls….

  30. ponce says:

    ”  No, Palin will mount a grass roots campaign to challenge Obama in the Democrat primaries. ”
     
    2012 sure will be boring if Palin isn’t running for something…

  31. Brummagem Joe says:

    “Remember B.O.’s  “unconventional”  “Coronation”?”

    Republicans get nominated, Democrats have Coronations. Republicans win prizes for abuse of the English language. 

  32. Brummagem Joe says:

    “What about someone who voted for Obama in Utah ?”

    Not quite the same Doug, because the aggregate vote matters as GWB and AG could tell you.

  33. reid says:

    Republicans get nominated, Democrats have Coronations. Republicans win prizes for abuse of the English language.
     

    I guess we can thank Frank Luntz for speeding our descent into the propaganda/marketing toilet.  Another case where I wonder how he sleeps at night.  Can we invent some sort of meaningless sport for nonathletic people so they can get out their tribal aggressions in a harmless way?

  34. Brummagem Joe says:

    reid says:

    Monday, August 30, 2010 at 12:46

    “I guess we can thank Frank Luntz for speeding our descent ”

    I know whoever mentions Hitler first loses but I seem to remember a British academic, maybe Isaiah Berlin, wrote an essay which I read years ago on how the Nazis abuse of the language was key to their subversion of the democratic process. Maybe Luntz read the same essay.

  35. reid says:

    BJ: He learned from the best!

  36. Smooth Jazz says:

    <Palin will never be President, even if she does decide to run.>

    Repeat after me a thousand times: Palin will never be President, Palin will never be President,  Palin will never be President, Palin will never be President, Palin will never be President……..blah blah blah yadda yadda yadda, blah blah blah, yadda yadda yadda. Meanwhile, the pseudo intellectual currently in the White House has no clue and is obviously in over his head.

    <I can see it now. Every Presidential Address ends with “You betcha”>

    From my point of view, “You Betcha” is certainly more palatable than I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I (It’s always about I the One) or “Let Me Be Clear”, “Let Me Be Clear”, “Let Me be Clear” – an annoying phrase from someone without any principles or a core backbone.

    Like I said earlier, the current occupant of the WH has no clue and is out of his league. Perhaps a down to earth, non intellectual who has a son in the military is the answer next time around<chuckling while Lib heads explode>LOLOLOLOLOL!

  37. the aggregate vote matters as GWB and AG could tell you.

    To history nerds, perhaps, but that’s not what picks the President.

  38. mantis says:

    Not quite the same Doug, because the aggregate vote matters as GWB and AG could tell you.
    Umm, the nationwide popular vote majority went to Gore.  Was he president?  Then I guess it doesn’t matter, does it?

  39. reid says:

    SJ: It’s hilarious that you claim Obama has no clue while at the same time defending Palin.  The starbursts must be blinding.  But the joke gets old fast, so welcome to the ZRIII mental kill file….

  40. Brummagem Joe says:

    Doug Mataconis says:

    Monday, August 30, 2010 at 13:22

    “To history nerds, perhaps, but that’s not what picks the President.”

    Obviously not, but for someone who is a political junkie you seem strangely oblivious to the importance of symbolism Doug.

  41. for someone who is a political junkie you seem strangely oblivious to the importance of symbolism Doug.

    Which is all that an Obama vote in Utah or a McCain vote in DC is — symbolism. So if they’re votes are legitimate symbolism, then so was mine for Bob Barr. Calling it “abstaining” is just a way of dismissing someone’s choice, I think.

  42. Brummagem Joe says:

    mantis says:

    Monday, August 30, 2010 at 13:29   “Then I guess it doesn’t matter, does it?”

    It matters in the long view of history. Bush was essentially placed in office by the supreme court when several justices who spend a lot of time pontificating about originalism and states rights voted to deny them. I’m not saying that Gore didn’t mishandle the situation, he did. But there is always going to be a faint odor surrounding Bush’s ascent which of course wasn’t assisted by the fact that he completely f**** up once in office. 

  43. Brummagem Joe says:

    Doug Mataconis says:

    Monday, August 30, 2010 at 13:50

    Not really Doug because a president’s share of the popular vote is constantly quoted as a means of underpinning his legitimacy. No one was ever going to quote President Barr’s share of the vote as you well know and therefore, you chose not to participate in the election just like those folks who voted for Nader. There’s nothing wrong with that, but pretending it is anything else is a bit absurd really. 

  44. G.A.Phillips says:

    lol dudes if you take away liberlal voter fruad Gore probly dint have any votes.

  45. Zelsdorf Ragshaft III says:

    Reid, considering you carry the name of the Senate Majority leader who is about to lose his seat, I wonder how f ing funny you will think that is?  As to mental kill.  You who only repeat that which is in the echo chamber, contributing nothing to the discussion.  Dude, if one compiles the totallity of your posts here and how far they diverge from the party line.  I would say you have no mental to kill.  Kind of like an endless loop tape.  No beginning and no end, just the same BS over and over and over.  Since I was called on it.  OK how about the day after election day in November?  That work for you, Doug?  Doug, you claim to be a political scientist and you voted for Bob Barr?  Did you throw your vote away to make some sort of statement or did you just miss the lecture about the realities of Presidential elections in America?

  46. steve says:

    The winner take all Republican primary system is key here. I think a lot depends on whether or not Huckabee runs. If he does not, Palin takes all of the evangelical votes. The economic and defense policy Republicans split there votes elsewhere. If she gets a solid lead from her early wins, it may be too much to overcome. The party will get in line as it always does, just like with McCain.
     
    Steve

  47. narciso says:

    Well be fair, R S McCain, who also was a big booster of hers, also voted for Barr, mostly for ‘reasons passing understanding’ actually to spite McCain, consequently they needed another vote for the Chambliss runoff

  48. floyd says:

    Joe;
     So I guess you were asleep somewhere when they actually officially  announced B.O.’s 
    winning of the nomination before the so called convention?

    It was YOU and not I who said “Republicans get nominated, Democrats have Coronations.”   I made no such comment.

    Any Party who completely ignores the primary votes , or disenfranchises primary voters with rules which don’t bind delegates on the at least the first vote, deserves to be called on it. B.O. was “coronated”.

  49. Eric Rich says:

    I’d vote for Palin over Obama any day. Left, enjoy the small victories while you can, our country is not ignorant I seriously doubt that we’ll re-elect a democrat after this administration is through.

  50. reid says:

    Eric, is that because Obama’s a muslim or Kenyan or communist or something?  Or because he can’t wave a magic wand and clean up the economic mess that took years to create?  I don’t understand your hate for Obama.

  51. Geoffrey says:

    As much as I hate the republican party, I could live with Romney, Pawlenty, Jeb Bush, or pretty much any other republican as president; after all, I did survive W’s presidency.
     
    But if Palin became president I would join Al-Qaeda.

  52. Geoffrey says:

    “Any Party who completely ignores the primary votes , or disenfranchises primary voters with rules which don’t bind delegates on the at least the first vote, deserves to be called on it. B.O. was “coronated”.”
     
    Also, you are completely factually wrong. Hillary had about a 1000 superdelegate lead before the primaries even started and Obama’s wins in the primaries is what lead to him winning the nomination. If anything, Obama’s nomination is proof of the DNC respecting voter’s wishes.

  53. reid says:

    Geoffrey, there probably are some Republicans that wouldn’t be too bad, but I think it’s a pretty short list.  Pawlenty I would definitely NOT put on that list, from what I’ve heard of him.  He seems like a stealth wingnut.  Romney might be okay once in office, but he’s an awful political panderer, which makes me question his character.  I don’t know all that much about him, but it’d be ironic if Jeb was the most reasonable of the bunch.  Maybe a name change is in order.

  54. Geoffrey says:

    And finally,
    Eric: you would vote for someone who resorted to crying out ‘gotcha journalism’ when asked what newspapers she reads over a former editor of the Harvard Law Review? I mean, politics aside, the difference in competence is just too great to even consider palin over obama.
    I’d rather have very conservative pastor (perhaps huckabee) who is an intelligent and competent person (romney also comes to mind) over a stupid incompetent liberal who happens to share my point of view.
     

  55. G.A.Phillips says:

    It’s because he is a Marxist idiot ideologue who has been exposed, we attempted to warn the people but they fell for the propaganda, but now they have seen him in action, that’s kinda hard to hide…..

    um ah um, it’s the Marxist economy stupid……

    ***I don’t understand your hate for Obama***sigh……I don’t understand your hate for non zombies, so there!!!!!

  56. Juneau: says:

    @ reid
     
    Palin will never be President, even if she does decide to run.  Unlike Obama in 2007, people know her now and have basically made up their minds.  I can’t imagine any way that she could undo the damage she’s done in most people’s minds.


    You mean the damage that’s been done to her.  I always find it amusing when people dismiss Palin (such as Doug’s “you betcha’ dig above) when you geniuses put a man in the White House who can’t even speak without a teleprompter because his sentences consist mainly of Uh…uh…uh…so…..uh…….so.

    Sarah Palin lives in Prog’s minds rent free

  57. Juneau: says:

    @ Brummagen
     
    Republicans win prizes for abuse of the English language.


    And Democrat fools win Nobel Peace prizes for doing nothing at all.  You folks have had the world handed to you on a silver platter – favor with the media, academia, and the bought-and-paid-for poor of this country – and you still screwed it up so bad that you are about to get your proverbial butts handed to you.

    And you feel competent to comment on Palin’s supposed inadequacy.   Talk about blind.

  58. Juneau: says:

    @ Brummagen
     
    It matters in the long view of history. Bush was essentially placed in office by the supreme court when several justices who spend a lot of time pontificating about originalism and states rights voted to deny them.


    Nice fantasy you have there.  Obviously well developed, even to the point of refusing to acknowledge the fact that Gore never won in Florida, never had enough votes, even in the media-driven investigation after the election.  I know that liberals feel that votes should be allowed to be “discovered” at any time after the count – and recount – is concluded ( witness the Gubernatorial race in Washington State where the R won, twice, until new votes were magically found).  However, your fantasy is just that; a fevered daydream where the TV networks really do pick the winner, and it should stay that way by gosh!

  59. reid says:

    Juneau: The Obama teleprompter dig is so incredibly stupid.  As if he’s never spoken intelligently without a teleprompter or that many other politicians (including Republicans) don’t also use them.

  60. Zelsdorf Ragshaft III says:

    Geoffry, that was a good pronoucement.  Can we watch on TV when they slowly cut off your head because you won’t strap a bomb to one of your children to attack some innocent people?  I want to preorder one in blue ray.  There are some who are just too stupid to learn.  If you believed the media about Barack and were disappointed because he is not the moderate you expected by the far left radical that he is?  Why would you believe that same media which tells you Sarah Palin, who actually accomplished stuff in her political life.  Did things that benefitted those who she served, is somehow unqualified, dangerous, too stupid, or anything else to be President?  You belong in the catagory of people who are too stupid to learn from their past.  Those on the hard left.  Enjoy the few days you have left in authority.

  61. anjin-san says:

    > a man in the White House who can’t even speak without a teleprompter
    Hmmm. When Obama dropped in on the GOP retreat, he managed to smack to lot of them around pretty well without the help of a teleprompter.  But why let facts interfere with a good rant?

  62. King says:

    I hope she runs in 2012 it’ll be funny

  63. Brummagem Joe says:

    Juneau: says:

    Monday, August 30, 2010 at 17:16

    “Nice fantasy you have there.  Obviously well developed, even to the point of refusing to acknowledge the fact that Gore never won in Florida, never had enough votes, even in the media-driven investigation after the election.”

    No one knows who won in Florida, no one will ever know because the votes were never counted. The recount was stopped by the supreme court when they overturned the verdict of the state supreme court thus turning back a states right.  

  64. G.A.Phillips says:

     ***When Obama dropped in on the GOP retreat, he managed to smack to lot of them around pretty well without the help of a teleprompter***lol, ya he is brilliant without his teleP…..

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SJ_QshAn2Gs

  65. Juneau: says:

    @ anjin
     
    When Obama dropped in on the GOP retreat, he managed to smack to lot of them around pretty well without the help of a teleprompter.
    Strange, it seems that only liberals feel like he”smacked” the Republicans around.  From what I remember of the video, he came across as petulant and impatient, “We’re not campaigning anymore John.”   A continuation of his juvenile ” I won” theme.  I also remember him being taken down pretty well by a young, articulate Republican about his disingenuous numbers game on the cost of /healthcare.
    http://www.salon.com/news/politics/war_room/2010/01/29/obama_gop/index.html
    “So Obama played it deadpan. ‘”The GOP plan will lower health care premiums for American families and small businesses, addressing America’s number one priority for health reform.’ I mean, that’s an idea that we all embrace. But specifically it’s got to work.” [ emphasis added]


    As we now see from the “revised” numbers admitted by the administration – it ain’t gonna’ work (Democrat strategists and the White House have even instructed Dem candidates to stop saying that ObamaCare will lower the deficit).
    Yeah, he just tore ’em up all right.   “Hey! I just flew in from out of town and, boy, are my arms tired!” Ba Da BOOM!

  66. Juneau: says:

    @ Brummagen
    No one knows who won in Florida, no one will ever know because the votes were never counted.
    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Florida_election_recount



    The National Opinion Research Center at the University of Chicago, sponsored by a consortium of major U.S. news organizations, conducted a comprehensive review of all ballots uncounted (by machine) in the Florida 2000 presidential election, bothundervotes and overvotes, with the main research aim being to report how different ballot layouts correlate with voter mistakes. [2]
    The media companies involved were:

    Associated Press
    The New York Times
    The Wall Street Journal
    CNN
    St. Petersburg Times
    The Palm Beach Post
    The Washington Post
    Tribune Company

    Los Angeles Times
    Chicago Tribune
    Orlando Sentinel
    The Baltimore Sun

    The media reported the results of the study during the week after November 12, 2001. The results of the study showed that had the limited county by county recounts requested by the Gore team been completed, Bush would still have been the winner of the election.


    Reality is never enough for liberals.  Unless its their reality – then everything is A OK.

  67. Juneau: says:

    Doug, I’ve got a post with a number of citation links that is being help up in moderation.  Could you check your queue please?  Thanks…

  68. anjin-san says:

    Interesting Juneau. Earlier he could not utter a complete sentence without a teleprompter. Now “as you remember it” he was managing to carry on a debate with a roomful of advasaries, but it was deadpan. You might want to make up a single line of BS and stick with it.

  69. floyd says:

    Geoffrey;
     ‘Tis you who is totally factually wrong, since it’s supposed to be the votes at the convention  which determine the nominee. Primary votes are for delegates , not candidates. Else the convention is merely a “Coronation” and the primary is rigged.
    Like the 2008 Democrat Convention.

    “Obama’s nomination is proof of the DNC respecting voter’s wishes,” 
    Conflatulations….words….well, uh… written.

  70. anjin-san says:

    > Like the 2008 Democrat Convention.
    Well Floyd, addressing folks by an incorrect name or title and thinking it is clever is something most of us outgrew around the age of 14. Perhaps one day you will grow up.

  71. DonnieDarko says:

    So if you voted for her, would you only check half the box, since she would only stick around for half a term?

  72. Brummagem Joe says:

    Juneau: says:

    Monday, August 30, 2010 at 20:27 

    “Reality is never enough for liberals.  Unless its their reality – then everything is A OK.”

    This is not reality, it’s all totally meaningless. Investigations by the media, who ironically you normally spend a lot of time dissing, are NOT election results. Vote counting was blocked in a blatant denial of states rights which even the supreme court said shouldn’t be taken as precedent. The only reality is that Bush was essentially placed in office by a judicial decision despite the fact that Gore had won a clear majority of votes in the country. If there was no question that Bush had won in FL why was it necessary to suspend the vote counting? It could easily have gone ahead and he would have been declared the winner in due course. Why was a judicial intervention necessary to block the democratic process?      


  73. Herb says:

    This is a little late, but I’d like to direct this to Zelsdorf III:

    “Name it coward.  May you be forced to have intimate relations with Nancy Pelosi and Hillary Clinton.

    Four words:  Grow up, old man.

  74. Gixman says:

    Rage guy is fooling around in Mexico City using Google’s Street View, and it’s for sure that he will find something that will make him mad!

    http://www.gixman.com/rage-guy-goes-to-mexico-via-google-streetview/

  75. floyd says:

    Anjin-san
     Yet you demand to be addressed by an incorrect name or title, thinking it’s clever…If that’s grown up… no thanks.

  76. An Interested Party says:

    “Reality is never enough for liberals.  Unless its their reality – then everything is A OK.”

    Projecting again, Juneau…you conveniently left out an important part in your little link…

    “However, the study also showed that the result of ‘a statewide recount of all disputed ballots… likely would have been different.'”