Over at Power Line, there's been a bit of back and forth between John Hinderaker and some readers over whether Sarah Palin should be considered a legitimate candidate for president in 2012. The exchange was occasioned by a post from John yesterday saying that--for a whole host of reasons--she has no chance of winning. He followed up with more today:
Fourth, there is a reason why Palin is generally regarded as lightly qualified to be President. She is lightly qualified to be President. Yes, as of 2008 she had more executive experience than Barack Obama, but since when is that the standard? Palin has been elected to one significant public office, Governor of Alaska, and she resigned midway through her first term. At the time, I wrote that this marked the end of her Presidential aspirations. With hindsight, I was right. Most Americans simply don't consider her qualified to be President. Sure, they were wrong about Obama--but that doesn't mean they will make the same mistake with regard to Palin.
I would be delighted if next month, new polls come out indicating that independents have suddenly changed their minds about Sarah Palin, and she is now a viable Presidential candidate. But that isn't going to happen. She has been exposed to the American public, if not overexposed. Pretty much everyone in the U.S. has an opinion about her, one way or another. So I have to think that the political verdict is in, and Palin is not a plausible Presidential candidate. Is that due, in part, to vicious and reprehensible attacks by liberals? Undoubtedly. But in politics as in war, people take hits. Palin is not the first Republican to be smeared, successfully, by the left. Why are we not talking about Dan Quayle as a Presidential candidate in 2012? I stuck up for Quayle, too, but he was not, and is not, a viable Presidential candidate. Nor is Sarah Palin. Sarah Palin is a valuable member of the conservative movement, but she should not be--and will not be--the GOP's Presidential nominee in 2012.
This is an excellent summary and pretty much mirrors my thoughts and feelings on Palin. Yes, there is most definitely a role for Sarah Palin to play in advancing conservative causes. But as John astutely argues, it's not going to be at the top of the ticket in 2012 or ever for that matter.
