No such animal.

Chewy the Lab on November 18, 2008 at 5:35 PM

That’s the kind of attitude that loses elections.

Big S on November 18, 2008 at 5:49 PM

The primaries will be just like any other primaries. Lots of candidates and a dog-fight.

Spirit of 1776 on November 18, 2008 at 5:47 PM

Exactly. And we could have a race that includes Palin, Jindal, and maybe even Mark Sanford. That’s a far cry from the lousy field we had this go-around, and one where we could end up winning no matter who comes out on top.

thirteen28 on November 18, 2008 at 5:50 PM

I talked to a good friend in Eagle River, AK this past weekend. He said he would bet every single dime he owned that Palin would win in 2010 in a landslide.

Palin is a shoe-in for 2010. Her approval rating is among the highest of any governor in the nation. Alaska is the only state in the union not in danger of recession: http://abcnews.go.com/Business/Economy/story?id=6158877&page=1

Heck, even corruption king Don Young won his seat this year, and convicted felon Stevens was very close. Alaskans seems less likely than most to throw out incumbents. Palin is now by far the best known Alaskan ever and has become an icon in the state. Check Ivan Moore’s latest polling, she is by far the most popular state wide elected official in Alaska. She could probably be governor for life if she chose to.

This nonsense from “Big S” is is “Big BS“.

Norwegian on November 18, 2008 at 5:52 PM

she just could not have publicly disagreed with mac on immigration during the campaign. If she would have disagreed the whole immigration debate would have came up again. That would have really damaged McCain.

ousoonerfan15 on November 18, 2008 at 5:50 PM

Thank you.

If one actually take the time to read the comments she made regarding immigration, it was clear she was walking a fine line and not trying to reopen a big wound at the most inopportune time. Furthermore, she emphasized that people have to follow the rules, and hardly came out as the McCain/Graham-like all amnesty, all the time shill that AP wants to portray her as.

thirteen28 on November 18, 2008 at 5:53 PM

But you asked for some criticism that has merit and I said that that was one “that I offered”.

Thanks. Yeah, it was not a good interview.

But it was a time when the criticism was merited and yet provoked a ridiculous response both here and through emails I received afterwards.

The past.

Spirit of 1776 on November 18, 2008 at 5:55 PM

I disagree with having Mitt as the candidate in 2012. I supported him in the primaries, but it became evident ro me that he would never win a national election, perhaps not even the nomination. Sad to say, but the anti-LDS sentiment is real and prevalent among many in the GOP base.

Regardless, Sarah Palin has now entered the scene. I for one would walk over broken glass to vote for that women, and I know millions of conservatives would do the same. She is just in a vastly different league than Romney, Huckabee or any of the other recent GOP contenders. She is, simply put, Ronald Reagan in a skirt. Noone else comes even close.

Norwegian on November 18, 2008 at 6:02 PM

Palin is a shoe-in for 2010. Her approval rating is among the highest of any governor in the nation. Alaska is the only state in the union not in danger of recession: http://abcnews.go.com/Business/Economy/story?id=6158877&page=1

Heck, even corruption king Don Young won his seat this year, and convicted felon Stevens was very close. Alaskans seems less likely than most to throw out incumbents. Palin is now by far the best known Alaskan ever and has become an icon in the state. Check Ivan Moore’s latest polling, she is by far the most popular state wide elected official in Alaska. She could probably be governor for life if she chose to.

This nonsense from “Big S” is is “Big BS“.

Norwegian on November 18, 2008 at 5:52 PM

“No state is immune from falling into a recession, except for one: oil-rich Alaska. ”

Nuff’said.

the_nile on November 18, 2008 at 6:03 PM

Snowed In on November 18, 2008 at 6:03 PM

Awesome way to make a great point.

thirteen28 on November 18, 2008 at 6:06 PM

I will never slam Mitt Romney for his ability as a busi nessman and for his Mormon religion. Even if he were a Democrat, I would have to question a man who had at his disposal such an immense personal fortune to generate vote-getting in the primaries and ended up making so little impact among average Americans. That I would certainly question more than Sarah’s so-called profligacy in ahowcasing her wardrobe and her makeup, that the RNC bought and paid for.

technopeasant on November 18, 2008 at 6:21 PM

Half the time she was without a teleprompter on the trail. Also did you see her speech at the Governors conference?? No teleprompter and she was FANTASTIC!

ousoonerfan15 on November 18, 2008 at 6:24 PM

Big S on November 18, 2008 at 5:26 PM

The “experience argument” never wins elections. No one ever won using the “experience argument.” Hillary used the experience argument expertly against The One. And she lost. Carter used the experience argument against Reagan. And he lost. George Herbert Walker Bush used the experience argument against Bill Clinton. And he lost. Al Gore used the experience argument against George W. Bush. And he lost. Gerald Ford used the experience argument against Carter. And he lost. We don’t vote for the most experienced politician. Choosing the most experience politician is like choosing the most experience prostitute (politics and prostitution: the first and second oldest professions). Who wants that? Sarah Palin did not cost McCain the election. She helped him. And if or when she decides to run for the top job, she’ll be a force to be reckoned with. She’ll be ready. Everyone thought that Reagan was finished in 1976, and look what happened four short years later.

As for her approval ratings dropping 20 points. No big deal. They were bound to drop eventually. I think they’ll soon rise again. She’s a natural charmer. I listened to her chat with the dj on a popular Alaskan radio show two days after the election. She’s a regular guest on the show. Imagine the governor of your state calling regular into a popular morning radio show to shoot the you-know-what about what’s happening in state governance. How cool is that?! They love her for it. Her approval ratings dropped because she lost her nonpartisan appeal during the election. They election is over, and we see that her ratings are slowly inching up from 61% to 67%. I predict they’ll top at 70% and stay there for the duration of her term. I believe 70% would still make her the most popular governor in America.

And if you had listened to any of her past speeches, you’d know that she has been preparing all along for the inevitable drop in oil prices. They’ve been saving for this. She’ll handle it just fine.

ramrocks on November 18, 2008 at 6:27 PM

It’s much too early to talk about drafting Sarah Palin, or anyone else, for President in 2012. As Palin herself said at the Republican Governors’ Association meeting, we need to concentrate on 2010–36 Governor elections (including her own) plus House elections.

Maybe she did have one or two bad interviews this time around, but she was used to Alaska media, who are more friendly to Republicans than the MSM in the lower 48. She won’t be unprepared next time, and she’ll have four years to do media interviews and develop foreign-policy credibility if she wants to seek the Presidency in four years.

But before we bash Sarah Palin, we need to consider the environment she ran in this time. A major economic crisis hit a month before the election, which Obama blamed on an incumbent Republican President, who had 30% approval ratings. Lots of voters voted for “change” without having the foggiest idea what change Obama promised. They will soon know.

By 2010, Democrats will have controlled EVERYTHING for two years, except possibly some skin-of-the-teeth filibusters which might slow down the juggernaut toward socialism. If voters then don’t like what they see, they’ll blame Democrats, and electing a Republican House might seem like a great way to bring an out-of-control Obama back to reality, as the 1994 House did to Clinton. Sarah Palin will be running for re-election as Governor then, but she might take some time out to campaign for Republican House candidates, and can rightfully say that “I told you in ‘08 that Obama was a socialist, and now he needs to be stopped by a Republican House”.

Neither Sarah Palin nor any Republican candidate will have to defend the Bush record in 2010. They can attack the Obama/Pelosi/Reid record by then, and it should be a target-rich environment. But it’s easier to attack deeds than words, so we need to see what Obama does in order to refine the message.

Steve Z on November 18, 2008 at 6:35 PM

If those are the worst things critics can say about her without descending into the Sullivan-esque gutter, then I’d say she’s in good shape for 2012. Reagan would have never been in the situation you mentioned because he was never thrust into the national stage on such short notice like Palin was. Given time, she’ll be able to handle nimrods like Couric and Gibson just fine, and she won’t have to do it based on the lousy coaching of campaign staffers picked by McCain.

thirteen28 on November 18, 2008 at 6:27 PM

Good point. Reagan was already politically active in 1964 campaigning for Goldwater (who lost badly), and Reagan lost the 1976 primaries for President, so he was well-prepared by 1980. Palin was thrown into the race on extremely short notice this time, but she’ll have time to prepare for next time, since McCain will be too old to run, and will probably be considered as a “loser” by GOP primary voters.

Sarah Palin is a quick study, and a formidable candidate when she knows the issues, as she did in the Alaska Governor’s race. Two months was too short to jump from Governor of 600,000 people to Vice President of 300 million, but give her four years, she could become America’s Margaret Thatcher. But even Reagan could not win in 1976 with the unpopularity of Nixon/Ford–he had to wait until Carter made a mess to sweep to victory.

Steve Z on November 18, 2008 at 6:52 PM

we need to move forward as a party … do I support Palin? Yes … am I open to other candidates? Sure

but we need to realize that the GOP is stuck in neutral while the dems are running smooth

we need to begin networking and fund raising for 2010 and beyond if we are going to have chance …

We don’t like Obama but his campaign has changed the way things are done … especially the communication aspects

joey24007 on November 18, 2008 at 7:34 PM

Y-not on November 18, 2008 at 7:45 PM

Yes I understand … but that doesn’t change the fact that his network is already established

joey24007 on November 18, 2008 at 7:55 PM

My friends, most Americans find endless entertainment in the fact that you people still cannot distinguish “destroying Palin” and merely laughing at a living, breathing punchline.

benny shakar on November 18, 2008 at 6:22 PM

Benny, I’m assuming that you are referncing Joe “Gird your loins” “Stand up Joe” “Hillary would have been a better VP Pick than Me” “I just had lunch in a restaurant that was closed for two decades” “I don’t know which clause in the constituion specifies the VP’s position” “Mark my words, we’ll screw up and you won’t like what we are doing” Biden

or are you talking about Barack “I visited all 57 states” “My Muslim Faith” “Let’s spread the wealth around” “I sat in church for 20 years and never heard my pastor say GOD D*MN AMERICA” “Bill Ayers is just some guy in my neighborhood.. er. Uhm, oh, we sat on a board together.. Make that a couple of boards, Oh, wait, I launched my career in his living room” “American servicemen are just air raiding villiages and bombing civilians” “Let me grab my package instead of saluting for the national anthem” “Lookit my coool greek god columns” Obama.

I’d appreciate if you’d clarify which of those two idiots you were referring to.

thanks

bullseye on November 18, 2008 at 8:28 PM

Is Ron Paul endorsing the ONE? 97% of the votes on the draft Palin website are for Obama? Give me a freaking break.

bopone on November 18, 2008 at 9:06 PM

thirteen28 on November 18, 2008 at 8:50 PM

Unlike the neocon brigade, I don’t mind paying my fair share of taxes.

Bonus: as a federal employee, YOUR taxes are paying my salary!

benny shakar on November 18, 2008 at 9:10 PM

See, this is what I’m talking about. A commenter observes a drop in approval ratings and criticizes her. The response: accusations of being a RINO who thinks conservatives should compromise their principles.

amerpundit on November 18, 2008 at 5:05 PM

Need a hanky?
This guy Big S is a lefty troll. Comes on HA making all kinds of dumbs assertions of fact for which he hasn’t a shred of proof, and gets called on it, as he should. Stop whining for g*d’s sake.

james23 on November 18, 2008 at 9:51 PM

I’m praying for her success and hope she stays true to the covictions and values which attracted us to her.

CCRWM on November 18, 2008 at 11:00 PM

I’m personally on board for Palin/Jindal 2016. I think they would both benefit from the extra time to build their resumes and teams and to study the issues. The ‘Cuda especially will probably need extra time to build a first class team and to get the policy tutoring she needs since she’s so far removed geographically. And, I’m sure that the media will do their best to ensure that The One wins a second term anyway. I don’t want to see either one of them waste their shot.

Also, in case anyone was wondering, Andrew Sullivan is still crazy. Where’s that cheese again? I think it slipped off the cracker somewhere back there.

meltenn on November 19, 2008 at 12:27 AM

Realistically, if Sarah wants to run for President in 2012 she has to get her ducks in a row in the next 6 months: schedule, money, grass-roots organization, policy positions, prospective opponents, Obama’s agenda, whether to run for re-election as Governor in 2010. Sarah cannot wait till 2011 and make a decision. Look at what happened to Fred Thompson when he waited too long to jump into the primary race. I know Sarah won’t make the same mistake.

technopeasant on November 19, 2008 at 2:32 AM

thirteen28 on November 18, 2008 at 8:50 PM
Unlike the neocon brigade, I don’t mind paying my fair share of taxes.

Bonus: as a federal employee, YOUR taxes are paying my salary!

benny shakar on November 18, 2008 at 9:10 PM

So Benny, I was a federal DOD employee at one time.. Couple of questions for you..

1. I’ll bet dollars to doughnuts you aren’t in DOD.. Probably in one of the ’social services’ areas. If you are in DOD, do you think anyone could have passed the security investigation for even a clerical job if they had the connections to Ayers and Dohrn that Obama has?? be honest now.

2. How are you defining “fair share”?? is it the “from each according to their abilities, to each according to their means.”

I spent many a coffee break with liberals who would spend one break talking about how to increase taxes and the next bragging about how they are beating taxes with their after hours cash under the table job.

One thing I can say from my almost 20 years working for the federal gov’t (DOD) is that most federal employees have NO CLUE as to how the real economy works. The federal budgeting system is an arcane series of funding pots and numbers. You don’t have to worry about making a profit. You have no real stockholders to please (at least directly). If you screw up, you can always dip deeper into the working taxpayer’s pocket.

Don’t get me wrong, i worked with a lot of dedicated, intelligent people. However, the reality is that, as I said before, they have no clue as to the real world. The other side of the coin is that there was a huge proportion of fat, lazy, parasitical drones with an entitlement mentality. “YOu can’t make me work or I’ll take you to the Union”.

Now, if you have worked in industry in a for-profit environment or as an entreprenuer, say so and I will offer an apology. Otherwise I think I hit the nail squarely on the head.

Oh, we did have one entrepreneur among us.. He got fired because he actually took out a yellow page ad for his side business and put his DOD phone number in the ad… Pure Genius.

bullseye on November 19, 2008 at 10:00 AM