A stronger, more powerful Sarah Palin arises

Andrea Billups has authored a Washington Times article which examines Sarah Palin's recent rise in both popularity and power. The writer says although former Gov. Palin no longer holds public office, the first woman to be the vice presidential candidate of the Republican Party does have a constituency of sorts:

A little more than a week after she launched her Going Rogue book tour, drawing thousands in rock-star fashion at stops across the country, the former Alaska governor has become a standard-bearer for a constituency seeking an unfettered voice on the direction of the nation.

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A new Washington Post poll released Monday found Mrs. Palin outpacing party rivals for the affection of core Republican voters. At 18 percent, she was the single highest vote-getter among the party faithful as the "person who best reflects the core values of the Republican Party." She had three times the number of votes received by key rivals such as former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee and former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney.

Democrats, including the Obama camp, are not underestimating Mrs. Palin's popularity and potential.

Just as she hit the airways and took her bus to Middle America's roadways for her book tour, Democratic fundraisers took to the Internet soliciting $5 donations to fight against her "lies." Acting through the national Organizing for America campaign, sponsored by the Democratic National Committee, they dubbed the self-described hockey mom as "dangerous" even as some left-leaning pundits diminished her as a chattering darling of the right.

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"People forget one of the things that has made her such a star figure in the minds of people who support her is the way she came through with that speech at the Republican convention when she had been disparaged within an inch of her life," [Wilfred McClay, a professor at Pepperdine University's School of Public Policy] said. "Obama has never had to do anything that showed that amount of grit or sheer fallback on raw character to get you through."

Trying to snuff her out of the current debate, he said, denies that she is speaking out on real public concerns, even as her popularity - and favorability ratings in recent polls - continue to rise.

We seriously doubt that the Democrats or their captive lamestream media will listen to Professor McClay. Their shared history has been one not of heeding reality, but of trying to create their own alternate reality and then tryinhg to convince the rest of the nation that theirs is the real one.

- JP