Palin: ‘It Would Be Absurd Not to Consider’ Presidential Run

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Posted on Feb 8, 2010

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Teanote speaker: Sarah Palin addresses supporters at the Tea Party Convention in Nashville on Saturday.

There are few single statements that have the power to evoke terror and delight in the same breath, but surely this is one of them: On “Fox News Sunday,” the channel’s own political commentator and tea-party headliner Sarah Palin opined “that it would be absurd not to consider” a run for the White House in 2012.

Palin made these positive noises about seeking the presidency after delivering the keynote speech Saturday at the first national Tea Party Convention in Nashville. Whether she would run as a Republican or in some corollary fashion as a tea-party candidate is unclear at this point, although Palin seemed to promote the idea of some kind of GOP-TP merger in the future.  —KA

The Wall Street Journal:

The former Alaska governor has embraced the Tea Party in public remarks, and she is stepping up her participation in the movement, with Saturday’s speech and appearances at Tea Party rallies in Nevada and Massachusetts in the next two months.

Ms. Palin urged the broader movement and the party establishment to work together to elect conservatives. “The Republican Party would be really smart to try and absorb as much of the Tea Party movement as possible,” she said. A spokesman for the Republican National Committee agreed. “Chairman [Michael] Steele believes that when engaging grassroots the more, the merrier,” said Doug Heye.

Some supporters at the convention took the same view. “I suspect the Tea Party strategy is to commandeer the Republican machine,” said Roger Webb, a 65-year-old freelance photojournalist.

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TAGS: fox news sunday gop michael steele nashville president republican sarah palin tea party white house

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By David, March 29, 2010 at 1:07 pm Link to this comment
(Unregistered commenter)

When Palin runs, it will be the other Republicans who will be tripping over each other to “put her in her place” - and that will be an entertaining thing to watch.

I bet that there will also be a “quitter watch” trying to take bets on how long Palin stays in before she quits. It basically means that Obama gets a free victory for his second term. But more importantly, it might mean that Republicans lose in 2012 some of the gains they will make this year in Congress and the Senate. If the national party looks like a freakshow, that really won’t help their local candidates.

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By Maani, February 9, 2010 at 2:41 pm Link to this comment

Catherine:

Thank you for being the first one to take this seriously.  I believe we all make a HUGE mistake in simply dismissing the possibility.  The “dumbing down” of a large portion of the electorate gave us not one but two GWB administrations (yes, electoral chicanery and the SCOTUS helped), has succeeded in derailing health care and other Obama initiatives, and has now given us the “tea party” set, which may be fractious, but has become a force to be reckoned with as part of the larger “new populism” - which both parties are attempting to channel their way (if not outright co-opt).  We do ourselves no favors by simply yukking it up over a potential Palin run - and possible win.

Felicity:

Re American Idol, I am not joking when I tell you that a political version is in the works for the 2012 election; i.e., “creating” a candidate, who will actually be given an initial campaign war chest.  I kid you not.

Peace.

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By Leefeller, February 9, 2010 at 6:19 am Link to this comment

What Palin offers is controversy and Rhetorical nonsense, for it seems many of the American people love to revel in nonsense.

Palin, may be news only in the same way American Idol may be news or how about those Super Bowl Advertisements be touted as news?

Manipulation by the Media s it hypes not the news seems to be working, one only need look at how the war and bile out are being covered.

As people become less the people and corporate entities become more the people, it is nice to see the new real people getting their well deserved bonanzas and even learn some people like the bile out kings may be able to afford medical insurance.

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By ofersince72, February 8, 2010 at 7:17 pm Link to this comment

and the difference would be ????
To the one that believes a Hilary presidency
would be more deserving to the woman’s movement, HUH?

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By lichen, February 8, 2010 at 6:08 pm Link to this comment

Palin=Obama.  It doesn’t matter.  What will you do on the streets to stop all corporatist war-mongering presidents/parties?

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By purplewolf, February 8, 2010 at 5:45 pm Link to this comment

Mundt: If you think that Sarah if feisty and fearless, look how she flies off the handle over the Lettermen and Emanuel situations which she blew out of proportion and wrongly at that. Yet when she was corrected, she still went off on the wrong path. Wouldn’t want to follow someone so air-headed. Feisty-no more like a hot-headed ignorant hormonal screeching harpies. 

Focus on faith: Only when it is to her advantage. She does not even follow what she stated her church teachings tell women to be. In fact she is 180 degrees in opposition to it. And her constant telling of lies, falsehoods and greatly twisted and embellished statements of things that never happened and her lack of empathy for creatures lesser than their human killers(aerial illegal wolf slaughters,caribou killing). No soul in this sorry excuse of a human.More of a right-wing fringe religious movement that wants to turn the whole world Christian, even

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By Chris Price, February 8, 2010 at 4:43 pm Link to this comment
(Unregistered commenter)

“Ms. Palin may not be an official leader of the movement, but her appearance Saturday—televised live and attended by 1,100 activists—underscored her ability to capture the spirit of the conservative grassroots. “

1100 activists?  Considering all the hype surrounding this event and the fact that Quitter Spice is supposed to be the head of this “movement” I’m surprised that there were so few people in attendance.  Of course, in the mind of Palin and her sycophants, I’m sure the crowd seemed much larger and represents nothing more than an opportunity for her to make more money and be in the spotlight. 

Yes, it is quite the “movement”.

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By Mundt, February 8, 2010 at 4:10 pm Link to this comment

Gov. Sarah Palin looms large in Presidential politics. With her feisty & fearless persona, her focus on faith, family, friendship, & fortitude, her fervent fealty to feminism, who is better qualified than Sarah to lead this nation forward to peace & prosperity?

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By TAO Walker, February 8, 2010 at 3:30 pm Link to this comment

Among some Native Peoples the cry of the Screech Owl is taken as a warning of (usually serious) troubles looming.  So when one of the GreatGrandDaughters called home from college Saturday-night to say she’d been hearing just that sound for what she said seemed like hours somewhere nearby, her Old Grampa here paid attention, and suggested she go see where the sound was coming-from.  When she came back to the ‘phone to tell us it had come from a dorm-room down the hall, and that it turned-out to be someone listening to Sarah Palin’s high-decibel speech (screech?) to the Tea-partyers, we all had a good laugh.

If we were among theamericanpeople, though, we’d be more than a little anxious about what this ‘omen’ portends.

Hokahey!

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By trager, February 8, 2010 at 2:07 pm Link to this comment
(Unregistered commenter)

Is anyone else out there thinking that if this woman does become the Republican candidate and actually wins (is awarded) the election, the military industrial complex or whoever/whatever really runs the government has given up all pretense of pretending we have elected officials?

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By squeaky jones, February 8, 2010 at 1:25 pm Link to this comment
(Unregistered commenter)

Is not the American President just a photo-op job that even a chimp could perform, and is not American Democracy just a charade. Squeaky.

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By Catherine, February 8, 2010 at 12:33 pm Link to this comment

It’s chilling to think of this monster actually occupying the White House.  However, I fear that the continuing ‘bipartisanship’ absurdity coming from the White House doesn’t come to an end soon, it’s entirely feasible that Palin could be the Repub’s choice and actually win the 2012 election simply because those who voted for Obama in 2008 won’t vote at all. Bipartisanship is laudable, but it’s not working and it’s time the president accepted that.  If he doesn’t, he’s going to waste far too much valuable time and nothing he wants to do will be accomplished.

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By faith, February 8, 2010 at 12:23 pm Link to this comment

Please, please Leefeller, do not relate women’s rights with Palin becoming the first
female president of the USA.  That denigrates us all.  The shock that Palin
considers, for a moment, that she is qualified to hold the highest office in the
land is surreal.  It is terrifying that foreign nationals, like Murdock, own so much
of the media, and hold so much influence over what americans see, understand,
and decide politically.
We are a ruined nation if americans really are so simple minded that they buy the
FOX hype and elect Palin.  I just cannot imagine it. I think americans are much
smarter than the media and the pollsters suspect.  But, when you see all the
coverage and hype that Palin is getting on Fox, and, yes, here on truthdig, and
Huffpo, and other sources it gives pause.  Palin is too simple and uncomplicated
to run this nation.  I am religious, but her brand of religion is really terrifying.

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By rick doe, February 8, 2010 at 11:47 am Link to this comment
(Unregistered commenter)

A quitter never wins. 

So let’s all hope Palin, the “1/2 term” governor does run. 

If that’s the best the GOP can do it’s laughable.  Never thought they could sink lower than Reagen until “W” Bush came along. But then there’s this nutjob… You can almost see the strings from the puppetmaster making her talk and move!

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By Distraction, February 8, 2010 at 11:36 am Link to this comment
(Unregistered commenter)

Obama and the Democrats continuing and escalating the wars, and raising defense and intel and homeland security budgets through the roof.  Obama and the Democrats are continuing to give wall street billions of bailout money.  Obama and the Democrats have turned “Health Care Reform” into the “Giant Health Care Corporation Enrichment Act of 2010”.

The Democrat’s base of left-leaning voters is starting to notice all of this and get upset.

The Democratic Party propagandists think ... “what can we do?  We have to get the base of our pro-war, pro-corporation party back into line.”

I know, quick, run more Sarah Palin stories.  That’ll distract them.

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By felicity, February 8, 2010 at 11:27 am Link to this comment

It’s been rumored that Palin is taking singing lessons as the next, and most important accomplishment she must achieve in order to ensure her inevitable occupancy of the Oval Office as American Idol, 2013.

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By PatrickHenry, February 8, 2010 at 10:06 am Link to this comment

Since she wears an Israeli flag on her lapel above the American flag pin, I thinks she needs to run for the president of Israel or FOX news.

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By Allan Krueger, February 8, 2010 at 10:01 am Link to this comment

Absurd? The only absurdity would be, President Palin! ROFLMAO!

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By rodney, February 8, 2010 at 9:26 am Link to this comment
(Unregistered commenter)

Why do the media continue to give The Wasilla Hillbilly free publicity. The politics of hate and division has already destroyed America. We may as well televise Klan rallies and Black Panther meetings for what we get from Ellie Mae Clampett. She has very little accomplishments and quit because she was no longer a effective Governor and wanted to cash in on the politics of hate division fear bigotry and racism. America and the news media need to get a life instead of trying to create one in Sara Palin who pimps her mentally retarded child to garner sympathy and win support from the right to lifers

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By tomack, February 8, 2010 at 9:18 am Link to this comment

One can only hope. It will make keeping the White House somewhat easier. And I have a feeling the dems will need all the help they can get.

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By Leefeller, February 8, 2010 at 8:50 am Link to this comment

If Palin ran and won President, this would make Palin the first women president, which could do something for the woman’s rights movement, sort of like a high colonic. Anyway, it all comes out in the end.

Now only if Palin was a history major like Bush.  Then history could repute itself with accuracy.

It would be nice if Palin understood something other than her being not the news.

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