Sarah Palin

Enidigm · 2010-12-09T07:52:42.000Z

Well, obviously any non-insane Republican leadership doesn’t want Palin and they’re won’t hold up the ABO banners high on her behalf, but if she somehow manages her way past the primaries she’ll profit from an angry electorate groomed to oppose him.

Jeremy_Johnsen · 2010-12-09T19:42:16.000Z

The last poll I saw Nate Silver post on Presidential candidates had Palin in first place by a good margin for Republicans with a high school education or less. She drops all the way to fifth place for Republicans with some college education (I think Romney was in first).

I wonder if those less-educated folks can push her through as the candidate?

joefriendgood · 2010-12-11T15:12:23.000Z

I hate how CNN forces me to read all Sarah Palin news by having links that say Sarah Palin did and/or said something and then I click on it. Then I get upset. I hate that.

corsair · 2010-12-12T23:24:52.000Z

Timex:

Do folks on the Left want to see Palin put up as a candidate? It kind of seems like that’s the case.

A candidate who couldn’t even last through one term as Governor of a backwater state before she wimped out? And she wants to be president? If the Republicans are stOOpid enough to nominate her, fine by me. She’s about as ignorant of the issues as humanly possible, her appeal is pretty much limited to people who are equally ignorant - I can’t think of a candidate for the Republicans who would be any weaker than her, so sure, bring the bitch on!

Eric_T_Cheng · 2010-12-12T23:51:41.000Z

Sarah Palin and her family were in Haiti and was only covered by Fox News (because the rest of them are gotcha liberal media, y’know). She also calls for military airlifts to aid Haiti.

RepoMan · 2010-12-13T12:07:47.000Z

Sarah Palin and Kate Gosselin had zero chemistry while attempting to go camping together. Actually, it sounds like the kids got along great, but Kate herself was a fucking weenie. (no surprise there)

Shit, Palin is becoming outright reality-TV parody now.

ReptileHouse · 2010-12-13T13:23:50.000Z

Enidigm:

I wouldn’t feel too confident about that. The Republicans have been working hard for two years to demonize Obama; the result (along with a bad economy) is a historic midterm victory and bitter disillusionment among Democrats. Unless this trend reverses there is going to be a considerable number of Independent voters chanting “Anybody But Obama!”, just as Democrats were ready to vote for virtually anyone other than Bush. The possibility that Palin could coast to victory on an anti-Obama wave isn’t implausible, however weak her candidacy would otherwise be.

It’s a long shot, but I agree that’s a possibility. Thus my personal feeling that her winning the primary is just too close for comfort to actually being president, longshot or not.

That is, as far I as understand it, where the feeling comes from that some lefties wouldn’t mind, or might even like it, if she did win the primary. They want an easier time of it in the general and feel she’d give them that.

Dejin · 2010-12-13T15:19:57.000Z

Enidigm:

I wouldn’t feel too confident about that. The Republicans have been working hard for two years to demonize Obama; the result (along with a bad economy) is a historic midterm victory and bitter disillusionment among Democrats. Unless this trend reverses there is going to be a considerable number of Independent voters chanting “Anybody But Obama!”, just as Democrats were ready to vote for virtually anyone other than Bush. The possibility that Palin could coast to victory on an anti-Obama wave isn’t implausible, however weak her candidacy would otherwise be.

Apparently 69% of Americans support his tax cut deal. With the left ticked off at him, it does look like he’s going for the triangulation strategy. The more vocal the opposition on the left is, the more Obama is going to be perceived as a moderate. Of course we’re still a long ways off from the 2012 election, and ticking off the base has its own risks. But this does look like Obama moving to the center.

PapaSmurf · 2010-12-13T16:25:32.000Z

Dejin:

Apparently 69% of Americans support his tax cut deal. With the left ticked off at him, it does look like he’s going for the triangulation strategy. The more vocal the opposition on the left is, the more Obama is going to be perceived as a moderate. Of course we’re still a long ways off from the 2012 election, and ticking off the base has its own risks. But this does look like Obama moving to the center.

69% of Americans are mentally retarded.

But we know that already.

inactive_user · 2010-12-13T16:45:01.000Z

How does Obama move to the center?

John_Reynolds · 2010-12-13T18:32:36.000Z

Yeah, when did he leave it?

Qmanol · 2010-12-13T19:23:24.000Z

Given the iron-clad obstructionism of the Republican senators combined with the desperate need for stimulus and the surprising amount of it they’re willing to let slip to get Richie Rich his tax cuts, I can understand why you could think it’s a better deal than anyone thought possible. Because unless you reform the filibuster, there is just no way to get past the idiots in the senate.

I can also see people thinking that it is a bad deal politically because it lets the UI expire well before the 2012 elections, s that things can get worse for a while, and weaken the economy, plus making the tax cuts another election year issue.

Hechicera · 2010-12-13T19:53:27.000Z

PapaSmurf:

69% of Americans are mentally retarded.<br />
But we know that already.

Maybe but, I think two factors influence support of the package as a whole.

People believe the economic principle that tax cuts stimulate the economy, even in a time of recession and with low taxes. The “if a little is good, more must be great” is a widely held belief period of Americans. I’ve seen almost nothing out of media to either refute it, or even say maybe sometimes but perhaps not now and perhaps not that much or to that category of taxpayer would be stimulative.
People here are also buying the meme that the country is center-right, bipartisanship is possible, and Obama by not trying harder is mainly responsible for any impasses in Washington. As a moderate, I’m hearing this one from friends on the right, and on the left (minus the country is center-right part).

Look at who Palin’s supporters are. As one of 4 in my graduating class to go directly to a 4 year college (out of about 125) in a small deep south school, I know many personally. My graduation was decades ago, primary education is worse now. Most of them aren’t retarded, you know. Some know the smart, well-educated rich are screwing them. They like Palin, she’s dumb and even though she is cashing in now, that’s not widely known, and she’s still not hedgefund manager competitive yet. The only way to beat Palin in that demographic would be to prove she is as greedy as a banker. That would probably work.

But I’m beginning to wonder if the public education in the US isn’t so broken as to not be able to support a democracy anymore though. The problem is so much bigger than Palin, and the tax deal will make it worse. It starves the states more. What is the public education budget cut in your state this year? In mine it averages 7% so far, may go up when state congress sits in Jan. too.

RepoMan · 2010-12-17T23:05:55.000Z

Yay. 59% of Americans would rather be gagged with a spoon than vote for Palin. Maybe there’s hope for us yet.

AHN:

An ABC News/Washington Post survey finds 59 percent of voters “flatly rule out” Palin for president. That number has grown six percent since a similar poll was taken over a year ago.

While Palin’s name recognition is up since she was catapulted to the national stage as Sen. John McCain’s (R-AZ) Republican presidential runningmate in 2008, surveys find Americans are increasingly uninterested in sending her to the White House.

According to the poll, only eight percent of voters would “definitely” vote "Palin 2012; another 31 percent of Americans would consider voting for her.

That’s better than I feared, and removes any risk of her actually getting in there, or even winning a primary.

Gus_Smedstad1 · 2010-12-18T05:44:40.000Z

I have to wonder what percentage of the 31% know much more about her than her name and that she was McCain’s running mate. Because unless you’re a complete idiot, familiarity with her breeds contempt.

Murbella · 2010-12-18T06:55:47.000Z

Gus_Smedstad:

I have to wonder what percentage of the 31% know much more about her than her name and that she was McCain’s running mate. Because unless you’re a complete idiot, familiarity with her breeds contempt.

Yes but all negative familiarity with her is gained from watching biased, liberal, gotcha media.

Gus_Smedstad1 · 2010-12-18T09:12:09.000Z

Murbella:

Yes but all negative familiarity with her is gained from watching biased, liberal, gotcha media.

Oh, I don’t know. Merely watching her speak or reading her tweets seems like it would be enough. Or maybe the liberal gotcha media is cherry-picking the stupidest moments from each, since that’s where I’ve formed my impression.

Woolen_Horde · 2010-12-18T09:24:38.000Z

RepoMan:

Yay. 59% of Americans would rather be gagged with a spoon than vote for Palin. Maybe there’s hope for us yet.

That’s better than I feared, and removes any risk of her actually getting in there, or even winning a primary.

Thank god. Of course, if some pissed-off liberal decides to run as a third party, I’ll sweat again.

DragonPup · 2010-12-18T13:18:20.000Z

That’s better than I feared, and removes any risk of her actually getting in there, or even winning a primary.

Except those 30ish % are probably all registered Republicans.

Lum · 2010-12-18T18:13:59.000Z

Yes. What is looking like an increasingly likely scenario is that Palin wins the nomination and then makes Goldwater’s 1964 performance look like a feat of electoral magic in the general election.

Kind of ironic that Fox News, whom more than any other media outlet has painted Palin as a serious political figure as opposed to a barely coherent trainwreck, will be responsible for handing Obama a second term. Then again maybe they figure he’s better for ratings.