Palin Power Impresses Moderate Blogger

Sarah Palin is, as we pointed out here, now viewed more favorably by independents than is Vice President Joe Biden. If she can improve her standing among moderates as well, she will have made considerable progress with two key demographic groups. One influential moderate who appears to now look more favorably upon the former governor than in times past is Michael van der Galien, who blogs at PoliGazette. Here are excerpts from his latest post, "Palin Power in Action":

When Governor Sarah Palin endorsed Conservative Party candidate in New York for Congress, she took quite a big risk.

[..]

Hoffman trailed his Republican and Democratic opponents in the polls. Until, that is, Palin announced her support for the conservative New Yorker. Suddenly, Hoffman received a lot of free coverage and a lot of money, because Palin not only used her SarahPAC to donate to his campaign, she also called on her Facebook fans to do the same. The result? Hoffman is now leading in the polls and he suddenly has more funds available than his Republican rival.

[...]

The reason for the sudden support is crystal clear: once Palin endorsed Hoffman, other Republicans could also find the courage to revolt against the official leadership of their party.

Hoffman's turnaround is no small accomplishment for the 2008 GOP vice presidential candidate, says van der Galien. And we agree that it's impressive. Considering the massive resources the NRCC is pouring into the district in support of his liberal Republican opponent, if Hoffman wins the congressional seat, it will be all the more an impressive achievement, thanks in no small part to Sarah Palin.

- JP