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Friday 10 February 2012

Palin 2012?

Tuesday, 9th February 2010

WALLACE: Why wouldn't you run for president?

PALIN: I would. I would if I believe that that is the right thing to do for our country and for the Palin family. Certainly, I would do so.

WALLACE: And how do you make that decision over the next three years?

PALIN: It's going to be thankfully a lot of time to be able to make such a decision. Right now, I'm looking at, as I say, other potential candidates out there who are strong. They're in a position of having the luxury of having more information at their fingertips right now. So that the current events that we're talking about today, they --

WALLACE: Wait, wait, wait. Because -- you're basically saying you will consider it.

PALIN: I think that it would be absurd to not consider what it is that I can potentially do to help our country. I don't know if it's going to be every seeking a title though. It may be just doing a darn good job as a reporter or covering some of the current events.

WALLACE: But you're going to consider, you're go to go through the process of thinking --

PALIN: I won't close the door that perhaps could be open for me in the future. I don't want any American to ever close the door in their personal or their professional lives and put themselves in a box and say, heck, yes I'm going to do that. Or, no way I'm not going to do that, when we don't know what the future holds.

WALLACE: There's a report this weekend that you are now getting daily e-mail briefings on domestic and foreign policy issues from a group of top advisors in Washington, D.C.

How come?

PALIN: Ever since our PAC was formed, we have had good people contributing. Some -- many volunteers, I guess you would call them advisors, yes, firing away e-mails to me every morning saying, this is what's happened in Washington overnight. You need to be aware of this. Good. It's great. It's helpful.

WALLACE: Do you -- isn't that the move of somebody who is thinking about running for president?

PALIN: You mean, conventionally how someone would -- I have no idea how conventionally people do this. How they try to open a door that's cracked, if it's even open. And if that involves having a group of advisors send them e-mails every morning. I don't know how any of that stuff works. I don't know, I'm just appreciative of having some good information at my fingertips right now.

I'll leave it to you guys to argue whether this is good news for Palin fans or not. I'll just note that all this closing doors and putting yourself in a box stuff is a very strange way to talk. Also, closing a door doesn't mean you can't open it again. That's the way doors work. Even if they're cracked. They don't need to be kept permanently ajar.

Also noteworthy: information - that is, knowledge - is a "luxury". Hmmm.

UPDATE: See Marc Ambinder for more. One other thing: I'm not persuaded that Palin's work for Fox News will help her. Yes, it guarantees continued prominence and friendly interviewing but it also slowly-but-surely moves her from "politician who does a bit of TV" to "TV star who does a bit of politics". And, while folk enjoy watching TV, they generally don't think they want to be governed by people from TV. Who knows, Palin could be an exception to that, but in the long-run I suspect being a regular on Fox probably diminishes her and, in the end, may marginalise her too. Call that strange but possible.

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Rory the Deplorable

February 9th, 2010 4:33pm Report this comment

This woman is plainly bonkers, but hey, that's no obstacle these days..is it?

Sam Davidson

February 9th, 2010 4:42pm Report this comment

While I know it's unfashionable not to be tremendously rude about Ms Palin at every possible turn but, personally, I can see her doing a fairly good job as President. Liberals; American, British or wherever, love to diminish their opponents by tarring them as "ignorant", "uneducated" etc. However, we've observed that Mr Obama, while clearly none of these things, has only ever been kept aloft by hot air and wishful thinking. Palin may be the antidote.

Conservative Cabbie

February 9th, 2010 5:04pm Report this comment

Alex

"Also noteworthy: information - that is, knowledge - is a "luxury". Hmmm."

I'm disappointed in you Alex. That's clearly not what she is saying. She's describing access to information as being a "luxury". In the context, she's talking about other candidates. You know, people like Romney and Huckabee, one's that have run previous campaigns for President. Which gives them access to GOP insiders for example, to donors and to the media. And at the end of the piece you quote, she explicitly says:

"I'm just appreciative of having some good information at my fingertips right now."

That doesn't suggest someone who thinks of information (knowledge) as a luxury.

Conservative Cabbie

February 9th, 2010 5:11pm Report this comment

I'm not sure quoting the Obama admin shill, Marc Ambinder, helps your case very much. Next you'll be offering up Andrew Sullivan as the go to guy on everything Palin.

At least you haven't run with "palmgate". I find it interesting that the media obsess about some crib notes whilst ignoring the fact that Obama can't even pronounce "corps" (he pronounces it "corpse"). What this shows is a Commander-in-Chief with such little understanding of the military that he can't even pronounce the name of a basic rank within it. One to file under "imagine the reaction if Palin had said it".

Rhoda Klapp

February 9th, 2010 5:37pm Report this comment

I observed here ages ago that the Palin who can run in 2012 has to win the primaries, to get the Republican nomination. Unlesss you think there will be a third party, which I don't. She will have to beat Romney and the as yet nameless rest in the interminable primary process. If she can do that, despite the GOP establishment, then it follows she will have some sort of a chance. How much chance depends a lot on what Obama achieves, and whether he can keep his support. She'd be lucky to be a 50-50 bet against any moderately successful incumbent. I wonder if a poor 2010 for the GOP might run in her favour.

Personally I'd guess that the 2012 candidate will not be from the 2008 list or ticket. It'll be someone we aren't talking about yet.

THX1138

February 9th, 2010 7:12pm Report this comment

Sarah Palin is actually dumber than you thought: http://bit.ly/bWj1hn

via @mattyglesias

Conservative Cabbie

February 9th, 2010 9:10pm Report this comment

THX

I think the people who are "dumber than you thought" are the people who misinterpret Palin's point. Or are they just dishonest?

1. It's quite possible to get an idea from an article you disagree with. It doesn't mean you misinterpret the fact that the article is counter to your argument.

2. As Pat Buchanan himself points out, when Palin says "which I would like him to do", it's probably best to look to the immediately preceding point as to what she is referring to. In this case, it was "or decided to really come out and do whatever he could to support Israel".

One reason I like Sarah Palin. She makes lefties look really dumb in their idiotic derangement. Good for her.

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