Washington Post-ABC News presidential race poll

Iowa and New Hampshire are nothing more than shakedowns of pols and the media by those two states. If the presidential candidates, Republican and Democrat alike, had any guts, they'd simply make up a list of primaries where they'd all enter and campaign. Without the campaign bucks, New Hampshire might not even bother to hold a primary.
This will never happen, since courage is a virtue politicians admire too much to tarnish by attempting to display it.

 

Honest question: Does anyone on this board take Palin seriously? Not as in, "I think she can win." But, as in, "I would conceivably vote for her in a GOP primary because I think she would make a good president."

No need to use the response to bash Obama or Romney or anyone else. Just state your case. I'm sincerely curious if anyone here takes her seriously as a leader/ideas person/etc., etc. I'd like to hear why. I think the recent Atlantic piece, which put some of her accomplishments in Alaska in context, came the closest to pointing out her attributes as an administrator/elected official without just being flat-out cheerleading (or just, again, bashing other candidates in the guise of supporting her) that I've seen.

 

This.

A lot of the African-American pastors who preached about Obama from the pulpit were also the same ones yelling "Vote for Prop 8 and you'll go to hell."

 

I take Palin seriously as a candidate and think she would be a decent president. She is a lot smarter than people give her credit for and the media smear campaign against her was/is embarassing. She is a conservative who has done a fine job as a mayor and governor. She has principles, which is why she left her job as governor (the legal fees the state was paying defending her against all the frivolous lawsuits, plus complying with FOIA requests from people trying to dig up dirt, was costing the state a fortune).

Sarah Palin has more experience than Barack Obama had when he was elected. She is charasmatic. She is a strong leader. I have no problem with her as a candidate. But she would never win because of the character assassination that the media has done on her ever since McCain named her his VP candidate.

The media campaign against her is the most brutal and unfair thing I have ever seen, and they should all be ashamed of themselves.

 

Romney should use the poll to leverage himself as the defacto nominee - I'm sure someone will emerge as the anti-Romney and bloody him up a bit - but I guess the right will have to choose whether they want their candidate to fit the mold or have a realistic shot at winning. The sooner Romney can wrap it up - the sooner he can back away from pandering to the fringe that will be used against him in the general.

 

Waah! Poor mavericky Sarah being picked on by that monolthic media which has given her a cushy commetary gig and a bully pulpit and a network in her pocket. Waaah!

And the notion of McCain 2008 and Dole as moderates is laughable. Did working with Ted Kennedy make Orrin Hatcch a moderate?

 

Dools, neither McCain nor Dole were considered conservative by conservatives.

They were not associated at all with the Christian Right (not that there's anything wrong with that, but it helps if you're a Republican & want to get elected president).

They did not run campaigns that were based on conservative principles. Neither one was an articulate spokesperson for Conservatism.

 

Right...it was the MEDIA that gave her everything. It has nothing to do with being the vice presidential nominee. If only the media would have done Barack Obama such favors, we would have a different president right now.

 

The same poll that shows Romney ahead of Obama among registered voters shows Palin losing by 15 points. Fuhgeddaboutit. Palin won't get the big donors to give if she runs, and she's shown absolutely none of the organizational chops to get together an Internet-funded small donor campaign finance operation.
If she does run, I predict it will be the worst career move she has ever made. The wingnut welfare gravy train will leave her station and never come back. She is infinitely better off where she is now -- pol without portfolio, no responsibilities, no problems.

 

100%. Republicans want to win. They won't back Palin.

The big money donors especially won't back Palin. As much as people act like raising money over the internet can make up for big donors, it can't. Not even for Obama, let alone Palin.

It obviously helps, but max donors is what it takes. Max donors who can bring in lots of other max donors is what it really takes. And Palin won't have any of them.

 

The hell they didn't YF. Maybe not your italics conservative, whatever in the heck that's supposed to mean in your rubric of the term. But their campaigns were sure in the hell not moderate.

And Carlton. FNC is part of the mass media whether you like it or not. And has the most craven agenda

 

Huntsman already took a big step in this direction, announcing that he won't compete in Iowa due to his stance against farm subsidies. Won't go over well with the GOP in Iowa, but needed to be done.

Not sure how much traction he would have gotten in Iowa in the first place with his seemingly moderate track record, but nice to see regardless.