@slkshock7,
slkshock7 wrote:
Sure she can do it.... Yes, she's misspoken (and been misinterpreted) and the left has and will continue to make hay of those gaffes. But so has Obama, Biden, and every other politician that's out there. Difference right now is that her polls are going up, while pretty much every other politician on the national scene is watching theirs go down.
gala wrote:if she can have the discipline to actually appear like she knows something then her chances would improve.
At this point, it wouldn't seem that she needs to do anything, her polls are going in the right direction and momentum is building anyway. Of course remains to be seen if they keep moving upward...but foregoing any major gaffe or new scandal, she's on the right path. The mood of the country is changing rapidly against the Dems. If Obama can't turn things around she will be able to take a page from his book in 2012 i.e., lean heavily on her right-leaning base and ride to the presidency on a wave of discontent from those in the center.
This is merely wishful thinking on your part. Palin is popular right now, because of three things: first, she has no responsibilities and no duties. She quit her job so that she could make money off of the Republican party, which is working out quite well for her. She can say whatever she likes and be against anything or for anything, because there are no repercussions. In this respect she has become a Media personality, much akin to Limbaugh and O'reilly.
Second, there is a pervasive belief - and not just amongst Democrats - that she can't do the job. I don't have to tell you that debates between her and Obama would be an absolute slaughter. She would have to become essentially the antithesis of what she currently is in order to change that perception.
Third, in order to win the presidency, you must be able to run a cohesive and well-formed campaign. To date Palin has shown no ability to do this whatsoever; in fact, the emerging picture from her time with the McCain campaign shows us the exact opposite. I don't have any confidence that she will be able to turn that around by 2011.
In short, I don't understand what makes you think that she could win, at all. None of the factors which allowed Obama to gain the presidency are in play here. You say that the country is turning against the Dems, but there's really no evidence of that at this time, and certainly not to the extent which we turned against Bush and the Republicans. I guarantee that Obama is going to bring his team ready to play again come re-election time and you know that they are the real deal when it comes to running a campaign, his '08 campaign was a masterpiece of how to market a candidate.
What do you look at, and see Palin winning? What data points are informing your opinion? Or is it just a case of wishful thinking in a vacuum - there really isn't anyone else right now, the only viable candidate I can see coming along is Marc Rubio, and he's not ready yet.
Cycloptichorn
