By Daniel Gustave Pazos
Sarah Palin was spoken for in the 2008 presidential election, or so we thought. A politician who is sometimes credited as single-handedly losing the election for John McCain seems to be showing up on CNN, MSNBC, and Fox News a lot lately.
After a series of horrendous interviews with Charles Gibson and Katie Couric, it was clear to the country that interviews were not Palin’s strong suit. In order to “protect her family, which has faced withering criticism and occasional mockery,” Palin decided to remove herself from the political lime-light for now by resigning as Governor of Alaska.
According to CNN, Palin is staying relevant through her use of social media awareness similar to the way Barack Obama was able to win the presidency last November. Palin is generating success on the web front, as well, boasting over 15,000 followers on Twitter and 990,848 supporters on Facebook.
Palin’s new book, “Going Rogue: An American Life” is also adding to her media machine. She will also participate in a series of interviews, appearing on Oprah on Monday, Nov. 16, as well as an interview with Barbara Walters and an extensive book tour.
Although Palin’s major downfall was her inability to perform during interviews, it has not stopped Palin from being as vocal as ever through different media outlets. Palin is constantly tweeting and updating her Facebook in order to sound off on “hot button” political topics. Many times, her tweets and wall posts end up being discussed on MSNBC or Fox News.
Without a doubt, Palin is changing the way the conservative Republican Party is running the political spectrum, without even being a candidate for political office. With her use of social media, Palin is moving the Republican party into the future, even if running for president in 2012 is not in sight for her.
The real question is whether this is a good thing for the Republican party as a whole. It seems as if moving toward running a campaign like Barack Obama did in 2008 will help republicans garner more votes in the 2012 election. But, is Sarah Palin the right person to front the new movement within conservative politics?
According to a recent poll conducted by CNN and the Opinion Research Corporation, fewer than three in 10 Americans believe Palin is qualified to be President. The sentiment follows within political circles as CNN reports a Palin nomination would be “catastrophic” for the Republican party in 2012. Although Palin has such a strong following on the Internet, her ability to get people to believe in her as President is lacking.
Despite what political commentators like Keith Olbermann argue, Palin has not yet admitted concern in running for President in 2012. Olbermann was seen on MSNBC’s Countdown suggesting that Palin’s book tour, which happens to roll through a good amount of swing-states, is a presidential campaign in disguise. The question of whether this is true or not can only be answered by Palin herself.
Sources: associatedcontent.com, cnn.com, politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com
