Even Alaskans Don't Want Palin For Prez

Much has been written about whether Sarah Palin will run for the Republican nomination for president in 2012 or not. Some believe she will run. Others believe she will take the hint from her poor showing in Republican straw polls in several states so far and decide not to run. I think she'll run. We know she doesn't read newspapers and magazines so why should we think she'll read the handwriting on the wall regarding her lack of popularity (outside the teabagger circuit, which is only a percentage of the Republican Party).

Lending credence to the idea that she's planning to run is the recent announcement that she's scheduled to speak before a large gathering of Iowa Republicans (the earliest of the caucus states). It was learned that the invitation to speak was only offered after she repeatedly begged Iowa Republican leaders for the opportunity to speak.

There are many reasons for Palin's unpopularity among the general public, not the least of which is the perception of her being a "quitter". She served only about half of her term as governor of Alaska before resigning after the going got tough. Why should voters believe she is tough enough to be president -- which may well be the hardest job in the world?

Equally important is her lack of knowledge regarding politics and world affairs. Her inability to answer even the simplest questions in her 2008 interview with Katie Couric was no fluke. After John McCain picked her as his running mate (perhaps the biggest mistake he ever made), his staff was shocked at the immensity of her lack of knowledge. During the campaign they kept slipping her books in the vain hope that she would increase that knowledge.

Although she now claims that Margaret Thatcher is one of her "heroes", the fact is that in 2008 she didn't even know who Thatcher was ( an amazing fact considering Thatcher is revered among conservatives both in Great Britain and America). How could any conservative politician not know of the "Iron Lady"?

But perhaps the best reason of all to oppose a Palin candidacy is that she's just a mean and selfish person. Here's how the current article on Palin in Vanity Fair describes her:

The intensity of Palin’s temper was first described to me in such extreme terms that I couldn’t help but wonder if it might be exaggerated, until I heard corroborating tales of outbursts dating back to her days as mayor of Wasilla and before.

One friend of the Palins’ remembers an argument between Sarah and Todd: “They took all the canned goods out of the pantry, then proceeded to throw them at each other. By the time they got done, the stainless-steel fridge looked like it had got shot up with a shotgun. Todd said, ‘I don’t know why I even waste my time trying to get nice things for you if you’re just going to ruin them.’ ”

This friend adds, “As soon as she enters her property and the door closes, even the insects in that house cringe. She has a horrible temper, but she has gotten away with it because she is a pretty woman.” (The friend elaborated on this last point: “Once, while Sarah was preparing for a city-council meeting, she said, ‘I’m gonna put on one of my push-up bras so I can get what I want tonight.’ That’s how she rolls.”)

When Palin was mayor, she made life for one low-level municipal employee so miserable that the woman quit her job, sought psychiatric counseling, and then left the state altogether to escape Palin’s sphere of influence—this according to one person with firsthand knowledge of the situation. The woman did not want to be found. When I finally tracked her down, her husband, who answered the phone, at first pretended that I had dialed the wrong number and that the word “Wasilla” had no meaning to him.

Palin’s former personal assistants all refused to comment on the record for this story, some citing a fear of reprisal. Others who have worked with Palin recall that, when she feels threatened, she does not hesitate to wield some version of a signature threat: “I have the power to ruin you.”

Evidently the citizens of Alaska know all of this about Palin. According to a recent Public Policy Polling survey, the people of Alaska don't want Sarah Palin to run for president -- even the Republicans. According to the poll, a full 62% of Alaska Republicans are opposed to Palin running for president. Additionally, only 42% of active teabaggers in Alaska would support a Palin presidential bid (a group that likes her far more than the general public).

When asked if they would vote for Palin to be their nominee for president, only 17% of Alaska Republicans said yes. Here's how Alaska Republicans would vote right now:

Mitt Romney...............20%

Mike Huckabee...............17%

Sarah Palin...............17%

Newt Gingrich...............16%

Ron Paul...............10%

Anyone who can't do better than that in their own home state has very little chance (if any) of getting the nomination. But mark my words -- Palin will run. If for no other reason, Palin will run so she can keep her name before the public and keep making money from her notoriety. After all, the primary motivation for everything she does is greed.