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President 2012: Fish or Cut Bait Sarah Palin
Conservative divas Laura Ingraham and Ann Coulter berated Sarah Palin and her supporters tonight on The O’Reilly FactorAnn Coulter makes a valid point in the video above and Eric Erickson nails it this morning.
What they are saying is that Sarah Palin must “fish or cut bait” on her 2012 Presidential candidacy. Either Sarah, you are in, or you are out. But, in any case, ENOUGH of the tease.I have said for months that Sarah Palin would determine she should run, if she were a viable candidate in the polls against President Barack Obama. Poll after poll has demonstrated that she is NOT.
Sarah Palin is NOT ELECTABLE against Obama.
So, is there a role for Sarah in 2012?
Of course, and she can rehabilitate her political careeer just as richard Nixon did. But, this rehab takes time. Sarah has plenty. She runs a 1:45 half marathon and is only 47 years old. Her politcal career has a few decades – if she plays it smart.
Sarah Palin should pick a conservative candidate for President who can beat Obama (Rick Perry or Mitt Romney or Michele Bachmann), latch on, maybe take a Cabinet position when they win. Or, move back to Alaska and run for Senate in 2014. Or, move to Arizona and take McCain’s seat when he retires.
Do something and end the tease – for all of us.
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President 2012: Sarah Palin IS Running
Sarah Palin running in the Storm Lake, Iowa Half Marathon
And, a great time: 1:45.For the rest, stay tuned…..
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President 2012: Florida Adult Industry Ready for 2012 Republican National Convention?
Apparently so.Following an extensive remodel, the Penthouse Club in Tampa, Fla., is finally ready for next summer’s Republican National Convention. Club operator DeWayne Levesque has installed two secluded VIP sections, which he hopes will help his club attract a bigger share of the 50,000 visitors expected to descend upon the city on Aug. 27 for four days of conservative politics and liberal partying. In addition to the club’s new carpets and furniture, the private rooms are designed to provide cover so that camera-shy donors, politicians and aides can enjoy the strippers without fear of getting caught, he said.
A few blocks from the Penthouse Club, another strip club owner, Joe Redner, said he has high hopes for what the convention means for business at his all-nude club, Mons Venus. “I’m guessing we’ll make five times as much in a night as we usually do,” Redner told HuffPost. “Republicans got plenty of money. They take it all from poor people,” he said.
The Huffington Post spin on this story is hilarious.
But, I am positive those clubs will get a work out next year.
Now, will Sarah Palin be a candidate?
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President 2012 Poll Watch: Should Sarah Palin Run? GOP Outsiders Say No
An interesting poll over at the Huffington Post and the Patch.Last week, our HuffPost-Patch Power Outsiders poll of influential Republicans in Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina found two thirds satisfied with the current crop of candidates and only 8 percent offering Palin when asked who else they would like to see run in a follow-up question.
This week, we decided to dig deeper into evaluations of Sarah Palin, starting with a more straightforward question: Should Palin run or not in 2012? We received responses back from 151 of our influential Republican leaders — 35 in Iowa, 48 in New Hampshire and 63 in South Carolina. Just 15 percent said yes, Palin should run, while 81 percent said she should not.
And, these GOP Primary state outsiders are split on whether Sarah would make a good President. But, they make one thing clear – Palin could NOT beat Barack Obama next year.
This really is nothing new. Most of the polling from PPP and others for over a year have demonstrated Palin’s lack of electability in a general election.
Now, with a deadline looming, will Sarah decide to shoot her wad and go for it?
Well, will ya, Sarah?
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Christine O’Donnell Bouncing Around With The Iowa Tea Party
The organizer of the Tea Party rally in Iowa this weekend told NBC News he had to cancel Christine O’Donnell’s speaking slot again — after she was re-invited — “after a conversation with Sarah Palin aides — and is now hopeful Palin will attend the Saturday rally.
I can understand Sarah Palin’s concern.
Obviously, someone in the Iowa Tea Party is not happy with Sarah Palin’s demands.
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President 2012 GOP Poll Watch: Another Poll – Another Rick Perry Lead – Perry 26% Vs. Romney 20% Vs. Bachmann 12%
According to the latest Quinnipiac Poll.
Among Republicans and independent voters leaning Republican, Perry gets 24 percent to Romney’s 18 percent, former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin’s 11 percent, Minnesota U.S. Rep. Michele Bachmann’s 10 percent, Texas U.S. Rep. Ron Paul’s 9 percent and businessman Herman Cain’s 5 percent. Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich gets 3 percent, while former Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman, former Sen. Rick Santorum and Michigan U.S. Rep. Thaddeus McCotter get 1 percent each.
If Palin doesn’t run, Perry leads Romney 26 – 20 percent with Bachmann at 12 percent.
Romney is viewed favorably by 36 percent, unfavorably by 27 percent – somewhat better than Perry’s split 22 – 23 percent favorable rating, with 55 percent who don’t know enough about him to form an opinion. Among Republicans, however, Perry is 44 – 5 percent favorable, compared to Romney’s 57 – 14 favorable rating. Bachmann is 36 – 26 percent unfavorable among all voters and 50 – 14 percent favorable among Republicans.
In general election match-ups, Romney is tied with Obama and Obama leads Perry by 3 points.
Again, this is a national poll and means less than the early GOP states where the race will occur first.
The only unknown in this race is whether Sarah Palin will run. Otherwise, it will be Perry as the front-runner Vs. Romney the moderate-establishment candidate.
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President 2012 Poll Watch: Rick Perry and Herman Cain Gain in GOP Field – Perry the CLEAR Front-Runner
According to the latest Gallup Poll.Herman Cain and Rick Perry continue to generate strongly favorable impressions among Republicans familiar with them. Meanwhile, those familiar with Mitt Romney, Michele Bachmann, and Ron Paul express less intensely positive opinions of those candidates now than at any point this year. The result is a clear separation of 12 percentage points between the top and middle tiers of Republican presidential candidates in Gallup’s Positive Intensity Score from Aug. 15-28 Gallup Daily tracking. The average Positive Intensity Scores show much smaller gaps between the current top- and middle-tier candidates.
Two potential candidates included in the measurement, Sarah Palin and Rudy Giuliani, fall between the middle and top tiers, with current scores of 16 and 17, respectively.
Of all the candidates Gallup tracks, Jon Huntsman has the lowest score, 1. That is also his personal low, and he is one of four candidates, along with Romney, Bachmann, and Paul, to have a personal low in the current data. Newt Gingrich, still mired in the lower tier of candidates with Huntsman and Paul, has shown some improvement in his score in recent weeks, now 7 after descending to 1 at the end of July.
So, what does this all mean?
Texas Governor Rick Perry is solidfying his front-runner status in this race. Governor Perry is the CLEAR front-runner at this point.
Mitt Romney and Michele Bachmann are starting to fade and the rest of the field are non-starters.
Game over for Perry – unless there is some monumental gaffe.
The Chart:
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President 2012 GOP Poll Watch: Perry 27% Vs. Romney 14% Vs. Palin 10% Vs. Bachmann and Giuliani 9%
According to the latest CNN Poll.
The survey, released Monday, indicates that 27 percent of Republicans nationwide support Perry for their party’s nomination, with former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, who’s making his second bid for the White House, at 14 percent. Former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin follows at ten percent, with Rep. Michele Bachmann of Minnesota and former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani at nine percent, and former House Speaker Newt Gingrich and Rep. Ron Paul of Texas, who’s making his third bid for the presidency, at six percent. Every one else listed on the questionnaire registered in the low single digits.
Another national poll, like Gallup, last week that shows Texas Governor Rick Perry as the front-runner.
The momentum has been clear and it is all Perry.
Wonder what Sarah Palin is thinking now?
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President 2012 GOP Poll Watch: Perry 29% Vs. Romney 17% Paul 13% Bachmann 10% – Perry Now the Front-Runner
According to the latest Gallup Poll.Shortly after announcing his official candidacy, Texas Gov. Rick Perry has emerged as rank-and-file Republicans’ current favorite for their party’s 2012 presidential nomination. Twenty-nine percent of Republicans and Republican-leaning independents nationwide say they are most likely to support Perry, with Mitt Romney next, at 17%.
These results are based on an Aug. 17-21 Gallup poll, the first conducted after several important events in the Republican nomination campaign, including the second candidate debate, the Iowa Straw Poll, and Perry’s official entry into the race after months of speculation.
Romney and Perry essentially tied for the lead in late July, based on re-computed preferences that include the current field of announced candidates. Gallup’s official July report, based on the announced field at the time and thus excluding Perry, showed Romney with a 27% to 18% lead over Michele Bachmann. Romney enjoyed an even wider, 17-point lead in June over Herman Cain among the field of announced candidates (Gallup did not include Perry among the nominee choices before July).
Perry’s official announcement may have overshadowed the Aug. 13 Iowa Straw Poll, which Bachmann won narrowly over Ron Paul. Neither candidate appears to have gotten a big boost from the straw poll results; Paul’s support was up slightly from July and Bachmann’s down slightly.
What about the GOP demographics?
Perry is a strong contender among key Republican subgroups. Older Republicans and those living in the South show especially strong support for him, at or near 40%. Conservative Republicans strongly favor Perry over Romney, but liberal and moderate Republicans support the two about equally. Perry’s support is also above average among religious Republicans.
The chart:
What is most interesting to me is the weakness of Perry and Romney in the East. Is there room in the field for an Eastern based candidate like former New York Governor George Pataki or former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani? And, who would that hurt the most?
While the eight announced candidates continue to campaign in key early primary and caucus states, Sarah Palin and Rudy Giuliani are two prominent Republican politicians who have indicated they are still contemplating getting into the race. Palin and Giuliani each receive about 10% of the vote when included in the nomination preference question, with Perry still holding a significant lead over Romney, 25% to 14%, on this measure.
With them in the race, Perry jumps to an 11 point lead over Romney. Also, remember that Rudy was endorsed by Perry in 2008 and that they are friends.
The chart:
So, what does this all mean?
Texas Governor Rick Perry has vaulted into being the front-runner for the GOP Presidential nomination.
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President 2012: President George Pataki?
New York Governor George Pataki addresses the final night of the 2004 Republican National Convention at Madison Square Garden in New York, September 2, 2004
GOP Operative/pundit Mike Murphy discusses the possible path to the Presidency for former New York Governor George Pataki.While most of the media have gone ridiculously aflutter over Sarah Palin’s latest diesel-powered tourist outing slash fan dance, a far more interesting caper is quietly unfolding in New Hampshire. Former New York governor George Pataki is airing a new ad on a Granite State TV station, WMUR. The ad comes from a Pataki-sponsored group called No American Debt and is perfectly attuned to New Hampshire’s flinty primary electorate. So while others are playing cat and mouse with reporters, inspecting farms in Iowa with more hogs than people and pleading with legions of self-appointed Tea Party generalissimos, Pataki is running a very effective spot in New Hampshire.
I saw it and had to smile. My bet? Pataki is going to try to steal the New Hampshire primary: First, ignore all the silly inside games and get on television pronto with a good message. Move up quietly in the polls — with Mitt Romney sitting at a third of the vote, Palin unelectable and Tim Pawlenty drifting near the margin of error, Pataki could televise his way into second or third place in Granite State polls by midsummer. Then let the national media discover the Pataki surge and get bonkers about it. With that national attention, reboot the once massive Pataki money machine in New York State and start attracting more national money and support. Light the right match, and if it combusts correctly, stand back and watch the fire grow.
If Pataki generates real heat in New Hampshire, it will create an enormous headache for Romney. The last thing Romney needs is another can-do Northeastern governor in the race. It’s even worse for the ideologically murky Jon Huntsman, who is banking on a very similar formula of independents and mainline Republicans to sore his own New Hampshire upset. In a final Shakespearean twist, Pataki’s old home-state rival Rudy Giuliani will be watching all this carefully and thinking dark thoughts about the idea of President Pataki. He too is hinting at a possible run.
I think Rudy Giuliani is waiting for Sarah Palin and will run if she gets in. Maybe Pataki has done the same political calculus.
But, there is room for only one of them and Pataki is already running ads and has no debt like Rudy.