Sarah Palin Discusses 2012 Presidential Plans……On Entertainment Tonight
Time to get out the popcorn:
Exclusive: ET’s Mary Hart visits Sarah Palin at home in Wasilla, Alaska, where the former Republican vice presidential candidate tells ET she’ll run for president in 2012 “if there’s nobody else to do it.”
The former Alaska governor, mom of five, and star of TLC’s upcoming series “Sarah Palin’s Alaska” says that when it comes to deciding whether to run: “It’s going to entail a discussion with my family [and] a real close look at the lay of the land, to consider whether there are those with that common sense, conservative, pro-Constitution passion, whether there are already candidates out there who can do the job … or whether there’s nobody willing to do it, to make the tough choices and not care what the critics are going to say about you, just going forward according to what I think the priorities should be.”
“If there’s nobody else to do it, then of course I would believe that we should do this,” Sarah tells Mary, leaving the door wide open for a 2012 run, while also noting that if it turns out there are candidates “who can do the job,” they would have her full support.
Palin made a similar statement just a month ago on Fox News Channel and, as I noted at the time, a candidate who talks like that has pretty much already made up their mind:
There it is, the classic political statement that says, I’m not thinking of running but if my country needs me, I’ll do it. It’s really quite masterful rhetoric, even if the truth of the matter is that it isn’t any more true when Palin says it than it is when any other politician who has their eye on the brass ring of American politics says it. It doesn’t mean she’s definitively decided she’s running, but it does mean she’s thought about it and she’s laying the groundwork for it.
You can see it now, really:
If the Republicans run the table in November, they’ll still have to deal with the reality of a Democrat in the White House who has the veto power. Palin comes forward sometime in 2011 and says that she’s heard the call from her supporters that America needs a President who will work with a Republican Congress to rollback Obamanomics.
If the Republicans fall short, then Palin and her supporters will see that as a call not for more compromise, but to become even more insistent on Republican adherence to conservative orthodoxy. And, they’ll argue, she’s just the person to lead the party, and the nation.
Will it work ? Well, I still say she has an immensely high hill to climb when it comes to winning a General Election, but anyone who discounts Sarah Palin’s ability to win the Republican nomination two years from now is a fool.
I don’t think it really matters what I think, or what Karl Rove thinks, to be honest, she’s going to do this and her supporters are going to love it. For better or worse, it’s likely to be unlike anything else we’ve seen before.
Actually, I think it will be reminiscient of the campaigns of William Jennings Bryan, minus the wit, erudition, or compassion for the poor and Teddy Roosevelt as a Bull Moose, minus the experience and ability. But the “Great Commoner” + “carry a big stick” themes will abound.
Frankly, I think there would be a serious chance of Palin losing the Republican nomination and running as a third party candidate. Alternatively, if she were to win the Republican nomination, I wouldn’t be surprised to see a big third party run.
“Sarah Palin’s Alaska” will probably be something I can enjoy. It should show her in her best light, as outdoors-woman and with an outdoors-family. It will have the things that are laudable … without being (IMNSHO) the things we look for most in Presidents.
I mean, I would like an outdoors-President, but wouldn’t rank that first in requirements.
(Case in point: GWB was a mountain-biker.)
“Frankly, I think there would be a serious chance of Palin losing the Republican nomination and running as a third party candidate. Alternatively, if she were to win the Republican nomination, I wouldn’t be surprised to see a big third party run.”
I think this is the money prediction. No one does victim better than Palin. If she does run and doesn’t get the nomination, her retribution will be quick and vicious.
Here’s a peek at the Alaska series:
http://tlc.discovery.com/videos/sarah-palins-alaska-sneak-peek-the-mama-bear.html
I keep wondering how she’ll reconcile the talk of “family first” with a serious run.
I really hope she runs. It would be fantastic to watch the fallout from the nasty political back and forths, the debates and how Fox news flounders around waiting for someone to tell them what party line to follow.
“No one does victim better than Palin.”
You really haven’t been paying much attention to Obama.