Will She Run? Palin in High-Profile Visit to Iowa

DES MOINES, Iowa — Former Alaska governor Sarah Palin is on a roll: Her political endorsements have helped propel upstart Republican contenders to victory in recent primaries, her cable TV show makes its debut in November, and now she’s off to Iowa, a state that has made and broken its share of presidential campaigns.

The 2008 Republican vice presidential candidate will be the big draw at Friday’s Reagan Dinner in Des Moines, the Iowa Republican Party’s biggest fundraiser, and the question that will be on everyone’s mind is whether she’ll run for president in 2012.

Iowa, home to the nation’s leadoff presidential caucuses, can be tough terrain for celebrity candidates. Those who try to ride their fame to victory in Iowa without organizing a grass-roots campaign often find themselves on the outs.

Take John Glenn. The former astronaut and senator drew huge crowds and intense attention here when he sought the Democratic nomination in 1984 — but he got just 4 percent of the vote.

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Will She Run? Palin in High-Profile Visit to Iowa

Politics, and the choice of a particular candidate, is as much about opinion and likability as it is facts and ability regarding a particular candidate. Sarah Palin has some good points on her side, but she presents a few less than desirable points as well.

Palin is a STAR right now, of that there is no doubt. She can draw a crowd, she can energize a crowd, she can raise a lot of money and without a doubt, her endorsements of candidates have been GOLD in recent elections.

She drives the LEFT crazy!

Palin talks a lot. She has an endless supply of political feel-good sayings. She’s folksy, she’s good looking and she has lots of fans that fawn over her and every word she utters.

Can anyone recall her ever making a statement of substance? One that left no doubt about her being a person of deep thought and great political acumen?

I see a cheerleader when I see Palin. I see someone that could be an outstanding leader for the RNC, a group that is in severe need of a leader. I see Palin as a good handicapper when it comes to picking candidates, and as I said, her endorsements carry a lot of weight.

I don’t see Palin as presidential material.

If she runs, Palin would start with strong appeal among the social and religious conservatives who play a crucial role in Iowa’s Republican politics. But that appeal wouldn’t necessarily last if it’s not backed up by a strong effort to reach out to caucus voters, said Steve Scheffler, head of the Iowa Christian Alliance.

Strong appeal? Yeah, she has strong appeal, sex appeal and rock star appeal.

She plays on her looks as much as anything. She is a cheer leader, not a WORLD LEADER.

Here is where I will likely stir the anger of Palin fans. Sarah Palin is NOT a Conservative. She is, in MY opinion, a Republican opportunist.

I know I will hear all about her loyalty and dedication, but the fact remains, Palin ran as John McCain’s VP. She embraced the McCain campaign, she still supports McCain, a RINO of the 1st order. Conservatives do NOT give their loyalty to a RINO.

I know too that Palin supports Christine O’Donnell, Rep. Nikki Haley, Karen Handel, Arizona, Israel and offshore drilling. I know she shoots guns. I know she can field dress a moose, but her continued support of John McCain gives me great pause regarding her true political thinking and her willingness to toe the GOP line.

And let’s face this one totally indisputable fact: Sarah Palin QUIT her position as Governor of Alaska.

We watched that drama unfold incessantly on the 24/7 news cycle. We were inundated with all Palin, all the time. We still are. We heard all the excuses regarding WHY Palin walked out on Alaska. Those excuses stink. If she was right she should have stayed and fought the accusations against her.

If she couldn’t take the heat in Alaska, why would anyone in their RIGHT mind even remotely believe that she could take the heat of Washington politics and the world stage?

Her favorable ratings have been slipping all year, in recent weeks dropping below 40 percent for the first time, in the latest Associated Press-Gfk poll. Forty percent now have a very unfavorable rating of Palin. But among Republicans, about two-thirds give her positive marks and one-third view her very favorably.

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