Name that candidate

Courtesy of Pollster.com, CNN and Opinion Research Corporation have a new poll out today regarding the 2012 presidential election, potential candidates, and their approval ratings and strengths. Regarding one politician who is frequently discussed as a candidate in 2012, their polling found the following:

Not a typical politician: 65% Applies, 34% Does not apply
A good role model...: 64 / 35
Care about the needs of people like you: 56 / 43
Is honest and trustworthy: 55 / 43
Shares your values: 49 / 49
Generally agrees with you on issues you care about: 48 / 50
Is a strong and decisive leader: 47 / 51

Have you guessed the candidate yet? Most non-incumbents would envy numbers like this, and it would lead you to believe that the candidate would be in a strong position heading into 2010. But then check out the bottom line:

Qualified to be president: 29 / 71

Have you figured out that the candidate is Sarah Palin? Even among Republicans, the margin is only 52 /47 (4.5% MOE). Her favorability rating is 42 /51 in the same poll. So if she is strong in these traditional measures of candidate values and strengths, what is it about her that makes seven in ten Americans think she is unqualified to be president?

I think the key is in the last strengths question - is she a strong a decisive leader? She receives her lowest marks in this category, and it would be a concern for any candidate to have low numbers on this criteria. But worse for Palin, her decisiveness is sometimes misguided and unintelligible. Two of her biggest decisions involved quitting public positions - one because of a lack of ethics of others, and the second because of a lack of ethics on her own part. In a crisis, will she quit?

All of this, of course, is purely academic. Everyone involved in the Palin follies of 2008 is turning their backs on everyone else and seeking to cash in for themselves. Palin knows, or has been told using very small words, that she could rouse a base of her party a la George Wallace, but she could never win the nomination or the election. Better to strike while the iron is hot, take her place along side Newt Gingrich as post-political party elders, and bring in hundreds of thousands of dollars in public appearance fees.

At least the Miss California pageant could strip Carrie Prejean of her title, limiting her scope and impact. The Grumpy Old Party has stuck us with Sarah.

RedState's mature approach to politics

Republicans only seem to like the media when it is eating out of their hands. Any outlet that dares to, say, actually do its job faces the wrath of the faithful.

And by wrath, I mean this measured, balanced, and useful approach:

As you know, the magazine Us Weekly will hit news stands this coming weekend with a hit job on Governor Sarah Palin.

Though Us Weekly claims that its coverage is very balanced, its cover features Governor Palin holding a baby with the headline "Babies, Lies, and Scandal."

US Weekly, which has been a promotional vehicle for Senator Obama's campaign, is in the tank for Barack Obama and will stop at nothing to ruin Governor Palin's reputation.

Please consider doing this: When you go to the grocery story this week, pick up a couple of copies of Us Weekly and deposit them on the shelves where the toilet paper is located.

When your party does not have a tradition of community organizers, this is what passes for responsible political action.

VIDEO: A Palin Primer - Ten Topics for the Week

There is a lot going on that involves Alaska governor and Republican vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin. Her public, and more complete, vetting continues in the media and in bloggers' basements across the country. Now that the holiday weekend has passed, here is a round-up of the information you need to investigate and discuss Palin this week.

Part 1:


Part 2:


[Please forgive the amateur nature of this video. I am, well, an amateur.]

1. Yes, Palin seemed to imply that the Pledge of Allegiance, particularly the “under God” phrase, was “good enough for the founding fathers.” The pledge was written in 1892, and the “under God” phrase added during the Eisenhower administration.

2. Yes, the Vice Chair of the Alaska Independence Party (AIP) said in 2007 that Palin was a member of the AIP before becoming mayor of Wasilla in 1996. The AIP’s goal is to force a vote on the legal status of Alaska, with the goal “to achieve independence under a minimal government, fully responsive to the people, promoting a peaceful and lawful means of resolving differences.”

3. Yes, Palin served as a director for the Ted Stevens Excellence in Public Service group, a 527 that could raise unlimited money from donors, and aimed to run a “boot camp” for female Republican candidates. John McCain has said that 527s are “a disgrace and they have to be eliminated because they're clearly in violation of the law.” Apparently, so is Ted Stevens.

4. Yes, Palin opposed the “Bridge to Nowhere” in Ketchikan, but only after first supporting it, then opposing it and spending the money on other projects.”

5. Yes, while mayor of Wasilla, she raised taxes.

6. Yes, while mayor of Wasilla, she fired the librarian and police chief, saying, “I do not feel I have your full support in my efforts to govern the city of Wasilla.” Both had supported her opponent in the mayoral election. Both agree that she never explained to the chief the reasons for his dismissal, saying only, “You know in your heart when someone is supportive of you.”

7. Yes, while mayor of Wasilla, Palin screwed up a sports complex land deal so badly that the city is on the hook for an extra $1.7 million because of it, cause cuts in city services and increases in fees.

8. Yes, as mayor of Wasilla, Palin registered $20 million in long-term debt for the city – around $3,000 per resident.

9. Yes, the Anchorage and Fairbanks newspapers, staffed with people who have watched her closely for years, question her selection and her qualifications to be Vice President.

10. Yes, Palin is involved in a sticky scandal involving her sister, her former brother-in-law, and the state Public Safety Director. She and her husband are accused of pressuring the Public Safety Director to fire the former brother-in-law from his job as a state trooper. When the Director refused, Palin fired the Director for failing to fill vacant trooper positions. Palin replaced him with a new director who lasted two weeks on the job before departing under a cloud of sexual harassment claims. She is due to be deposed before Halloween, and the results of the investigation could hit before Election Day.

There are some other stories – her daughter’s pregnancy; the timing of her first pregnancy and her marriage; the birth of her fifth child – but these are either of a dubious nature, or beyond the scope of civilized political discussion. In other words, her positions on sex education, a woman's right to choose, and related issues, are germane. But discussion of these personal stories should not be the entry point for discussion those issues.