Poll: Palin Faces Bad Personal Numbers If She Runs In 2012
If Sarah Palin is really considering a run for president, she's got a huge mountain to climb, a new CNN poll finds.
Palin's favorable rating stands at 49%, compared to 43% unfavorable. While it's a net positive for her, she is nevertheless under 50% -- and furthermore, it's way behind John McCain's 61%-36% rating, and he just lost the race along with her. This is also the fourth consecutive CNN poll in which her favorables have gone down, after reaching a height of 57%-27% just after the GOP convention.
To put it bluntly, it's tough for someone to run for president when a broad section of the country is already on record disliking him or her for years in advance of the actual race. In a way, Palin could face one of the same problems that Hillary Clinton did: Entering the race as a polarizing figure, leaving even many of her own partisans eager to find someone else.
These ratings give me faith in the American public.
Or, they illustrate the power of a slam-dunk impersonation to really shape public opinion.
I prefer the former.
November 12, 2008 3:06 PM | Reply | Permalink
I prefer the former too. It is comforting, if nothing else.
November 12, 2008 3:13 PM | Reply | Permalink
You're confusing me, what with the new avatar.
But I like it.
So, bagpiper, what's the hangup with Missouri, anyway? When're those votes going to be tallied?
(And yes, since you're from Missouri, I'm holding you personally responsible for the entire election. Got a problem with that???)
November 12, 2008 3:17 PM | Reply | Permalink
lol, yeah, what's going on in Missouri? Come on guys, get it together!!!
November 12, 2008 3:22 PM | Reply | Permalink
Now that the election is over, "Catholics for Obama" no longer made much sense. So I switched to the logo of the university for which I work. Meanwhile, as regards the status of our votes, I expect that it will be a while. That said, I have no remaining hope that we will carry Missouri. The number of provisional ballots being examined is just too small to have any realistic hope that it could swing the election to Obama.
November 12, 2008 3:27 PM | Reply | Permalink
Sarah:
Run in 2012, please baby baby baby please!
Love,
The Democratic Party
November 12, 2008 3:09 PM | Reply | Permalink
A Big "Gosh Darnit" Second!
November 12, 2008 3:44 PM | Reply | Permalink
Yup, Yup!
November 12, 2008 4:27 PM | Reply | Permalink
yeah, it would be the best thing that ever happened to democrats.
Picture: And You Thought Obama Was a Nerd Before, Obama Was In A Group Called “Lawn Rangers”
November 12, 2008 4:25 PM | Reply | Permalink
You don't encourage the likes of Sarah Palin to run for president in 2012 because you think it would be a Democratic slam dunk for Obama, and fun to watch her crash and burn. George Bush was such a candidate in 2000. He was the darling of the money people, was known to be uninterested in most things, and should have been dispatched during the primary season. Unfortunately, he got the nomination and the rest is history. In short, just because you think Palin is an airhead, don't trust a plurality of the electorate to think otherwise. Send her to oblivion, now, and have her nowhere near the '12 elections. She's too toxic a personality to allow near the event.
November 12, 2008 5:18 PM | Reply | Permalink
It's funny how things turned out. Back in the spring/summer, the Democrats were the ones who were supposed to be splitting down the middle over their female candidate.
November 12, 2008 3:13 PM | Reply | Permalink
Not to be supporting Sarah, but isn't this a bit early? When it's 2010, maybe a poll over how popular she is will matter. But right now, I wish she'd just go away.
November 12, 2008 3:13 PM | Reply | Permalink
Co-sign.
November 12, 2008 3:19 PM | Reply | Permalink
Since Pres. Obama is giving the MSM the silent treatment, seems the only news story is Palin running in 2012. Time magazine is having a hard decision to make: is Obama the Person of the Year or is Palin?
The MSM needs to find a new line of work. The election is old school now.
November 12, 2008 3:25 PM | Reply | Permalink
And does anyone out there think bad numbers will prevent her from running?? Of course not!
This is someone truly living in the land of denial - she's the political duckling that was asked to the prom by the popular jock only to find out later on that it was done on a bet.
BUT, she then thinks she can become prom queen because of her sudden 15 minutes of fame!
So yeah, let her run - she'll have the PUMA's salivating and some hard-core conservatives, but that's pretty much it - she won't make it past the primaries, especially if Bobby "The Exorcist" Jindal runs.
But she'll sure think she looks sassy up on stage all over again!
November 12, 2008 3:17 PM | Reply | Permalink
Can't you just see the button on her 2012 web site, "Donate to Sarah's Neiman Marcus fund"? Gots to keep those fashions current...
November 12, 2008 3:20 PM | Reply | Permalink
Out of curiosity, I decided to visit http://sarahpalin2012.org and http://sarahpalin2012.com. Both sites already exist, but are obviously skeletons waiting to be sold.
Maybe someone could suggest they add that Neiman-Marcus button?
November 12, 2008 3:33 PM | Reply | Permalink
Sarah thinks that 49 percent is a door that God left cracked open for her so she could plow through it.
November 12, 2008 3:52 PM | Reply | Permalink
Bobby Jindal will certainly give her a run for her party-splitting money, because as far as the racists are concerned, he's as much of a n***er as Obama, if not more so.
November 12, 2008 4:30 PM | Reply | Permalink
Sarah Palin is one crass Machiavellian opportunist. The election was only one week ago, and she is already campaigning. This woman is dangerous. Clearly, any mother, who would leave her "special needs" newborn to fly around the country trying to gain political power for her own, selfish needs is not someone most Americans, particularly, women, will vote for. I have a friend with a Down Syndrome baby and she quit her job for four years to give her baby, who had special needs, all the undivided time and special attention he required. Isn't the most "special" of all needs for a Down's baby his mother?? Sarah Palin doesn't even pass the test for Good Mother--how could she be a good leader?
November 12, 2008 3:21 PM | Reply | Permalink
Aren't you confusing the word baby with prop. If all the $150K clothing was nothing more than props, then so too the baby.
November 12, 2008 3:30 PM | Reply | Permalink
Olbermann had the guy from Talk Soup on last night, and he came on with a baby in his arms, and did the interview while the kid drooled and played paddy cake with the table. Priceless.
November 12, 2008 3:35 PM | Reply | Permalink
I thought it was particularly poignant and poetic when the kid peed on the desk and the dad used Olbermann's script to mop up. :-D
November 12, 2008 4:18 PM | Reply | Permalink
Then there's poor little Piper telling Matt Lauer that she's having a hard time in school now because she missed so much school during the campaign. Of course Momma Palin jumped right in and declared that Piper got a better education on the road than she would have had "behind a desk".
November 12, 2008 3:31 PM | Reply | Permalink
Man, if I was a kid and heard Palin say that, I'd definitely try that excuse on my dad (who voted McCain/Palin) when I wanted to play hooky.
November 12, 2008 3:36 PM | Reply | Permalink
Did anyone else cringe during the latest Wasilla interview when the 7 year old was seen carrying the infant up and down the stairs like a rag doll? If that baby survives to the age of 5, it'll be a miracle.
November 12, 2008 4:16 PM | Reply | Permalink
And if you go to Huffington Post, you'll see a photo showing little Piper wearing spike heels (mommy's?) WHILE she's carrying the baby.
November 12, 2008 5:02 PM | Reply | Permalink
I'm speechless. And totally crestfallen about that poor kid's chances.
November 12, 2008 6:21 PM | Reply | Permalink
That "family" is painfully familiar to anyone who has done social work in the hollers of Appalachia, where special needs children outnumber those born "normal," parenting skills are nonexistent and "mothering" begins with labor and ends with the expulsion of the afterbirth.
November 12, 2008 4:36 PM | Reply | Permalink
Four years is an eternity in politics. Remember that two years ago, Hillary was the inevitable Democratic nominee...
Things can change in time. After all, who thought that Ronald Reagan would ever become President in 1980 after he lost previous attempts to be the GOP nominee?
Some observations based on the recent round of Palin interviews:
- She didn't totally suck (not the most glowing compliment...)
- Some may sympathize with her new role as candidate/victim.
If she studies up over the next few years, who knows. If Dubya was able to become POTUS, anything is possible.
November 12, 2008 3:30 PM | Reply | Permalink
She's like an obnoxious guest who won't STFU and leave when the party's over. The campaign ended. Go back and be a governor. If you want to run in 2012, declare in 2011, not today. Most Americans don't want to hear from you for a while, if not ever again.
November 12, 2008 3:32 PM | Reply | Permalink
That's a good thing isn't it?
November 12, 2008 3:50 PM | Reply | Permalink
She has a heck of alot more to overcome than Hillary ever did. Most importantly, she has to deal with the fact that she's an idiot who can barely put a coherent sentence together.
November 12, 2008 3:34 PM | Reply | Permalink
And yet Limaugh, Hannity, Kristol, etc. all find her to be an irresistible icon of the future GOP. Go figure.
November 12, 2008 3:43 PM | Reply | Permalink
Ugh--- Limbaugh
November 12, 2008 3:47 PM | Reply | Permalink
Not hard to figure out (pun intended). They like looking at her, and dreaming.....
November 12, 2008 3:48 PM | Reply | Permalink
And gettin' all starbursty. . .
November 12, 2008 4:36 PM | Reply | Permalink
Keep singin' sexy Sarah. Sing to ya hearts content. We wanna ta know everythin' 'bout cha.
November 12, 2008 3:49 PM | Reply | Permalink
Exactamundo. More, Sarah, MORE!
And, speaking of a person's associates,
November 12, 2008 4:15 PM | Reply | Permalink
I suspect that the majority of U.S. bishops tend to agree with that sentiment, although probably not in the same sense as you. It looks like there could be an alignment of fundie churches and the American Catholic Church that could keep the culture wars nauseatingly alive. I wish I could have eavesdropped on that conversation that Obama had with the Pope.
November 12, 2008 4:01 PM | Reply | Permalink
Man, I love how the reply function is so predictably squirrely on this blog! Meant as a reply to our Missouri Voter.
November 12, 2008 4:04 PM | Reply | Permalink
From All Things Considered this morn. Worth a look/listen.
U.S. Catholic Bishops Warn Politicians On Abortion
by Barbara Bradley Hagerty
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=96885215
November 12, 2008 4:13 PM | Reply | Permalink
Yes, I heard that this morning. It doesn't look like there's a lot of room for dialogue as several conservative bishops are all set to start denying Communion and may move down the range of punitive actions to excommunication. An already ugly situation could get uglier if the churches continue to try to shape policy instead of public sentiment, as someone in the NPR piece noted.
November 12, 2008 4:26 PM | Reply | Permalink
Well, if they go that route I hope they extend the Communion embargo to everyone who voted for the Iraq War -- against the Pope's wishes.
November 12, 2008 4:35 PM | Reply | Permalink
I read about that story in today's Boston Globe. While they're hyperventilating about this, they forget the results of the recent election, and the effect of the constant, negative advertising on the Republican candidates. People have had it, and don't listen to it much any more. They've also misread the public's sentiment as far as churches getting involved in the political process in a negative way. They have also lost sight of the feet of clay that the Catholic hierarchy has. Can you say sexual abuse, coverup, and stonewalling investigations?
November 12, 2008 5:30 PM | Reply | Permalink
If she were to somehow win the R nomination in 2012 and run against Obama, I would guess the negativity of her campaign would make the divide in ideologies of the left and right deeper and more damaged than anyone can imagine. In her short general election campaigning, she demonstrated to what low levels she would go. If not for McCain, she would drag this Nations politics down so far, it would cause everyone to be completely disgusted with politics even more than they already are.
If she ran in 2012, the likes of B. Kristol and his minions would channel everything that is wrong with Atwater and Rove style politics through her, and probably cause all of our heads to explode until Obama finally won on election day.
Yeah, he would win but at what price to this Nation and his family's well being.
It would be a sad sad day in American politics.
November 12, 2008 4:15 PM | Reply | Permalink
I just don't see how she can raise the money. The adults in the Republican party have a lot of better choices for 2012 than Miss Wasilla. She might be all mavericky, and like, ya know, but she needs the Party behind her, not just the evangelicals. Ain't gonna happen.
November 12, 2008 5:52 PM | Reply | Permalink
The one thing that gives me hope when anyone talks about Palin studying and getting educated in world affairs, is the fact that she won't. She is not a student of anything and already thinks she knows it all, so she would never spend time to seriously learn about anything outside Alaska. Her neurosis allows her to think that she is perfect as she is. She is also extremely passive-agressive: she does something wrong and it is always someone else's fault. Doesn't it give you chills to imagine her right now in Obama's shoes, if she and McCain had won and McCain had keeled over?
November 12, 2008 4:16 PM | Reply | Permalink
She's got God on her side. God will guide her as president.
November 12, 2008 4:49 PM | Reply | Permalink
There are so many more talented congresswomen- even in the Republican party. They are smarter, more experienced, more charming, and more charismatic. The only difference? I think we know.
November 12, 2008 4:31 PM | Reply | Permalink
Sarah's sexy. She got sex appeal.
November 12, 2008 4:38 PM | Reply | Permalink
i just want her to go away.
i actually think she would put us in danger if she was elected president.
i don't see how she ever will be elected, but still the thought scares the hell out of me.
November 12, 2008 4:50 PM | Reply | Permalink
As long as they want to keep interviewing her, I predict she'll bite. She simply cannot see she's a laughingstock and that she's laying a trail of breadcrumbs which would come back to haunt her. She may imagine people will change their minds, but most, except for the conservative fundies, have seen enough of her and are just watching for the laugh value of seeing someone so desperate for attention.
It's pathetic. But she can't see that. To her all attention is good. Even our negative attention here - she'd likely see that as our being interested in her.
Yech!
November 12, 2008 4:56 PM | Reply | Permalink
Even the media types fawn over her because she's good for post-election ratings right now and for entertainment value, similar to sit-com or reality TV. But would those same media types ever want her to be their C-I-Chief? Hell no.
November 12, 2008 5:07 PM | Reply | Permalink
Once there is another missing white woman or shark attacks off the coast of California, the msm will go back to their usual "reporting". I don't watch the MSM, CNN, or even MSNBC (except on the web) but read about her interview with Blitzer over on Huffington. Let's just hope she goes away by the end of the week after the repug governor's conference is over.
November 12, 2008 5:18 PM | Reply | Permalink
Exactly... "Look at me, ain't I pretty? Wink wink." That's how she's got where she is now, and that's the only way she knows how to do things. I bet, if she runs in 2012, she will still be as ignorant as she is now because she is such a stupid slut.
November 12, 2008 5:58 PM | Reply | Permalink
Thank you for saying what I have been keeping inside me since she was nominated. And Kristol and various other dirty old men fell for it.
November 12, 2008 7:00 PM | Reply | Permalink
Exactly! She clearly has no intention of learning anything. She's anti-science and enjoys being divisive and hateful. She can't admit when she is wrong (classic Republican insecurity! See "Shrub" for exmaple), and is a glaring example of poor education. Just listen to her words...she is a complete embarrassment to every school she has attended. And her gross insecurity is reflected by her *desperate* need for attention from the media. There is no excuse for glorifying such gross ignorance, lies and hate.
November 12, 2008 8:10 PM | Reply | Permalink
While Palin was busy campaigning with McCain, there were many Alaskans campaigning against her. They are very unhappy with her administration and I wouldn’t be surprised if they attempted a recall. Below is the site, maintained by a Wasilla resident, which is full of interesting information.
http://mudflats.wordpress.com/2008/11/11/palin-ignores-mosquitoes-at-her-peril/
November 12, 2008 7:44 PM | Reply | Permalink
What stupid shit - it's 4 years away, and Hillary's numbers were certainly worse at this point. I don't particularly like her, but when I read dumbass comments like this, I figure she's going to eat your lunch.
November 12, 2008 8:06 PM | Reply | Permalink
The Palindrone will soon cease.
She was seeking a lot of attention in order to shore up her Senate run in case of a new election. That won't be necessary, with Begich comfortably ahead come Friday.
November 13, 2008 4:23 AM | Reply | Permalink
I know it's hard for political animals of the male variety to understand, but there's one reason why Sarah Palin will never bring her favorables up - women.
Every working woman has had to deal with a "Sarah Plain" in the workplace - the woman who gets promoted because she bats her eyelashes, smiles pretty and uses her sexuality to get promoted. When the male bosses need to fill a female quota, they find the Sarah Palin in the workplace to do it.
Because of that, and (thank goodness) women vote in higher numbers, Sarah Palin will never win - despite the male fantasy trying to make it happen.
November 13, 2008 9:59 AM | Reply | Permalink
I'm surprised nobody has mentioned Palin's likeliest competitor for the nomination in 2012, (though I seriously doubt she'll even be on the radar by then) who would be Mike Huckabee. He at least adheres to the best aspects of his faith and is more palatable to all but the most blinkered right wing nuts. And I don't think he is going anywhere either. The Republicans have some real soul searching ahead to reach relevance.
November 13, 2008 10:59 AM | Reply | Permalink