Wednesday, November 11, 2009

Opinion

Sarah Palin's Progress

November 04, 2008 11:34 PM ET | Bonnie Erbe | Permanent Link | Print

Gov. Sarah Palin's god was apparently not listening when she voted in the pre-dawn hours in Alaska:

"Tomorrow, I hope, I pray, I believe that I'll be able to wake up as vice president-elect and be able to get to work," she said. "I'm so anxious to get to work for the American people."

When the history of this race is written, will Palin be blamed for McCain's loss? Doubtful. Republicans have been explaining away their weaknesses this year blaming such factors as the recession, being outspent four-to-one by Democrats in some states, President Bush's catastrophic leadership, the unpopular Iraq war, and so on. Nonetheless, she did little to help the ticket.

Governor Palin has made clear she sees her experience on the campaign as a launching pad to a more permanent spot on the national stage, not a crash and burn finale. Can she turn her loss into future success? That. Too. seems doubtful, given the timing. As the GOP leadership figures out how to move forward, evangelical Republicans will inevitably lose their vice-like grip on the GOP. With Palin as their spokesmodel (in the words of shock jock Howard Stern), her time seems to have passed along with theirs.

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Tags: politics | presidential election 2008 | Republicans | running mates | Sarah Palin

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Reader Comments

Jimmy Carters 2nd term

After Jimmy Carters 2nd term (Mr Obama) the majority of the American people, which are conservative in nature, will be ready for a strong, Ronald Reagan-like figure. Mrs Palin will be ready to fill that role.

Obama supporter

I supported Obama, but I wish Mrs. Palin the best. I really hope, though it sounds childishly optimistic, that McCain and Palin can work with Obama and that our country can stop being so divided.

Palin is a bore

Yes, Gov Palin can belt out a speech written for her, but does she have the where with all to WRITE a national speech on the issues? No.

She's beautiful, but America needs genius-intelligence. We're tired of leadership as entertainment. Yes, we need inspiration, but we need substance and direction too.

Mainly I don't like Palin because she repeated falsehoods incessantly until the press had to pound her to stop. Added to that she hippocratically labeled others socialist while she raised taxes on oil companies and refunded the surplus to Alaskans (isn't that socialism, raising taxes on one group for the benefit of others?). She screeched about cutting out earmarks while she'd just finished requesting the most earmark $$ per person than any other state. She said no to the bridge to nowhere, but kept the money and built a road to nowhere.

I trust what the McCain aids are warning us about her.

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About Bonnie Erbe

Bonnie Erbe is a contributing editor at U.S. News & World Report and hosts PBS's weekly news analysis program, To the Contrary with Bonnie Erbe. She also writes a weekly syndicated newspaper column for Scripps Howard News Service.

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