Thursday, November 26, 2009

Michael Goodwin: Reversal of Fortune

In mid-November of 2008, recalls the New York Post's Michael Goodwin in his latest column, Brarack Obama was on top of the political world, while it appeared that Sarah Palin political future was destined to be buried six feet beneath its surface:
What a difference a year makes. And the winds of change are still gaining speed.

Obama's fall from grace has been dramatic as he pushes unpopular policies from a health-care overhaul to 9/11 terror trials in New York. His approval is below 50 percent, and the man who rode the wave of public anger is now the focus of it. Even deep-blue states like New Jersey are falling out of love.

He has redivided the nation he promised to unite, and those who strongly oppose him outnumber those firmly in his corner. Independents and moderate Democrats are jumping ship, having concluded he was not honest about promises to govern from the center.

Even more surprising, Palin is the darling of discontent. Her book, Going Rogue, is a publishing sensation, selling 600,000 copies in two days. Thousands of people camp out overnight to buy the book and get her autograph.

She's becoming the phenomenon Obama was a year ago.
While Obama has aligned himself with the left wing of his party, Goodwin says, everyday Americans identify with Palin. No wonder independents are running from Obama as fast as their buyers' remorse will carry them.

Despite this reversal of fortune, Goodwin still doesn't consider Sarah Palin to be a viable contender for her party's presidential nomination. While he acknowledges her Phoenix-like rise, he remains among that group of pundits who underestimate The Arctic Fox. Others know better.

Not to worry, Palinistas. Like Ronald Reagan before her, Sarah Palin gains political power for precisely this reason. The more she is underestimated, the more political power she accrues.

- JP

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