Nate Silver: The 800-Pound Grizzly on the Web

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Political number cruncher Nate Silver theorizes that Google search traffic "may be a reasonably good proxy for how much interest the candidate generates among the public at large." So he ran Tim Pawlenty's numbers and remarked that the Minnesota governor’s traffic "somewhat lags behind that of several other potential Republican contenders." But those differences pale into insignificance, Silver observes, compared with the gap between Sarah Palin and every other Republican candidate:

Ms. Palin’s search traffic, since the start of 2010, is roughly 16 times that of Mitt Romney, 14 times that of Newt Gingrich, 38 times that of Mike Huckabee, and 87 times that of Mr. Pawlenty. (It is about six times greater than these other four candidates combined.)

Ms. Palin, in fact, draws almost as much search traffic worldwide as the man she would face if she wins the Republican nomination: Barack Obama. And her name is searched for about 30 percent more often than the President’s among Google users in the United States.

[...]

Mentions of the candidates in media outlets tracked by Google News have been nearly as asymmetrical. Sarah Palin’s name has been mentioned in about 20,300 articles since the start of the year, according to Google News, versus 3,640 for Mr. Romney, 3,280 for Mr. Gingrich, 2,980 for Mr. Pawlenty, and 1,870 for Mr. Huckabee. The ratio of candidate mentions in The Times since the beginning of 2010 has largely followed the same pattern: Ms. Palin’s name has been mentioned in 870 stories, against 540 for the other four candidates combined.

This poses a problem, says Silver, for the rest of those in the GOP pack who imagine themselves behind the big desk of the former president of their choice in the Oval Office. His reasoning is that "if and when Ms. Palin declares her candidacy for the White House, it could consume much of the media oxygen literally for months." The numbers man concludes:

Ms. Palin may not be the front-runner in a traditional sense (although it’s not clear that any of the other candidates are either). But she literally commands as much of the public’s attention as the President of the United States, and the strategy for the other candidates will have to revolve around her to some significant degree. In fact, since it is uncertain whether she will run or not, they will effectively have to develop two separate sets of strategies, one contingent upon the assumption that she will enter the race and the other on the bet that she won’t.

[More]

- JP

Why Mona Charen doesn't want Sarah Palin to run in 2012 (Updated)

Too smooth...
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Syndicated columnist Mona Charen, lists several talking points as alleged reasons why she thinks that the 2008 GOP vice presidential candidate should not make a 2012 run for the White House. But she omitted what may be the real reason why Charen is so opposed to a Sarah Palin presidential candidacy:

Because in MonaWorld, Mitt Romney is "near perfection" as a candidate:

"You have to admire the near perfection of Mitt Romney as a candidate. It’s no easy thing to find someone with such poise, movie-star looks, high intelligence, family stability, and record of accomplishment. He is accused of being too smooth by those of us less gifted by nature."

Riiiight, Gov. Romney is such a perfect candidate that he couldn't even beat the weak John McCain in the 2008 GOP primaries, despite having raised over $90 million in campaign cash, $35 million of it from his own personal fortune.

h/t: Commenter John Galt at NRO

Update: According to Donald Douglas, Mona has jumped bandwagons. We have to assume that storied Romney near-perfection wasn't quite perfect enough. Now she's backing Mitch Daniels. Why, the Indiana governor must be even nearer to perfection than her former fave. Go figure...

- JP

Gov. Palin's publisher sues Gawker for copyright infringement

Leftist website refuses to remove embargoed pages
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HarperCollins, the publisher of Sarah Palin's forthcoming second book, filed a federal lawsuit against Gawker Media Friday for leaking pages of America By Heart: Reflections on Family, Faith and Flag ahead of its November 23 release date:

Two days before the Manhattan filing, gutter website Gawker published images of more than 20 of the open book's pages. Gov. Palin tweeted Thursday, "Isn't that illegal?"

Her publisher contends it is. The lawsuit asks that Gawker be banned from what it terms "further copyright infringement" and that Gawker deliver the source material to the publisher so it can be destroyed. HarperCollins is also seeking financial damages.

Gawker did not immediately respond to e-mails seeking comment Friday evening, but an item published the day before and titled "Sarah Palin Is Mad at Us for Leaking Pages From Her Book" defended the blog's actions and linked to websites defining the fair use doctrine of copyright law.

The blog was not the first site to publish excerpts from the book, which has been billed as a tribute to American values, but it refused to take them down after receiving a letter demanding that it do so, the lawsuit said. The Associated Press bought a copy of the book ahead of its Nov. 23 release date.

The 2008 GOP vice presidential candidate's first book, the memoir Going Rogue: An American Life, has sold over 2.7 million copies.

- JP

Day By Day (November 20, 2010)

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Good Morning! It's a wonderful life if we just take it Day By Day.



Support Pro-Palin Day By Day

- JP

Quote of the Day (November 19, 2010)

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Rep. Mike Pence via ABC's "Top Line":

"But with regards to Sarah Palin -- she's a force of nature. I just can’t help it -- I just love her. I just think she's got a bold and courageous voice for conservative values. She doesn't apologize and I like her style."

h/t: Cubachi.com

- JP

'Sarah Palin’s Alaska': Preview of second episode

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Here's another "Sarah Palin's Alaska" preview from TLC:


- JP

Kathleen Parker thinks Hamilton 'wrote the constitution'

Disturbing...
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Faux conservative Kathleen Parker, who has repeatedly accused Sarah Palin of being "ignorant," claimed on CNN's prime time ratings disaster "Parker-Spitzer" that Alexander Hamilton came to the U.S. illegally and drafted the Constitution:

"Let's remember...a lot of Americans did come through the back door such as Alexander Hamilton. He got off the boat from the West Indies, and all he did was write the Constitution and become the first Secretary of the Treasury."

Actually, it was James Madison who drafted the Constitution, and Hamilton landed in New York City in 1774, when New York was still a colony of the British crown. So he was hardly an illegal immigrant who "came in through the back door."

We find Parker's ignorance of American History... disturbing. She "don't know diddly." And speaking of Bo Diddly, he wrote a song about that kind of hypocrisy...

Eric Clapton - Unplugged - New Music - More Music Videos

- JP

More Quote of the Day Honorable Mention, Part 157

"Strength" Edition
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Julia Spitz at Spitz Bits:

"I’m not exactly outraged Bristol Palin is in the finals of 'Dancing with the Stars.' I’m not like the guy who shot out his TV when Tuesday’s votes were revealed. Bristol has shown poise and a willingness to learn. But she’s shown something else in her TV reality show run. She’s shown her mother’s surprising strength... The truth is, for whatever reason, Sarah Palin has captured America’s heart. No matter what. And her daughter is feeling the love."

Stacy McCain at The Other McCain:

"People can’t stand to see the Palins happy... I blame Andrew Sullivan, who has spent more than two years demonizing Sarah Palin."

Rush Limbaugh:

"Do you realize today how miserable the American left is over Bristol Palin making the finals of Dancing With the Stars? ... The reason they're upset is because they have done their best to make this Palin family persona non grata. They've tried to trash it, besmirch it, impugn it, and the American public is now en masse voting for Bristol Palin... She accepted the challenge. She's doing it. She's having her world turned upside down. She's willing to put herself out there, and she's in the finals, and the left can't stand it. The left can't stand this, and her mother's TV show on TLC's getting higher ratings than any cable news network show. They can't stand it. And throughout all of this character assassination, throughout every attempt to destroy this family, including having a reporter rent the house next to theirs in Wasilla to do a hit piece, [the Palins are] laughing, they're smiling, and they're having a good time. They're enjoying life as Alaskans and as Americans."

Roderic Deane:

"What scares the hell out of me is that the right-wing is figuring out how to game a vote. Hasn’t that always been the exclusive [province] of the left? No wonder the left is so upset."

Van Helsing at Moonbattery:

"Palin Derangement Syndrome has claimed another victim: 'Prosecutors say a Black Earth, Wis., man blasted his TV with a shotgun after watching Bristol Palin's Dancing with the Stars routine, sparking an all-night standoff with a SWAT team... He went to his bedroom and returned to the living room with a shotgun and blasted the TV, then pointed the gun at his wife, who managed to escape and call police. Tactical officers surrounded the house and finally managed to talk Cowan out Tuesday morning.' It may be a good idea to keep firearms out of the hands of moonbats during Sarah Palin's extremely successful TLC program."

Jon Stewart via The Washington Examiner:

"It’s Bristol Palin! She’s not running for anything... She’s not doing anything wrong. If you don’t like how far she’s going, don’t watch the show"

the blogprof:

"Since when do the underage children of politicians, or former politicians turned citizen activists, provide fodder for attacks on their parents? Excuse me, but I don't recall a whole lot of publicity about Al Gore's drunk-driving son Al the 3rd... Indeed. I don't recall TMZ pointing out politicians and media types calling tea partiers 'teabaggers' and certainly not piling onto their kids for using the dismissive homosexual slur. Just another case of Palin Derangement Syndrome."

Laura Donovan The Daily Caller:

"News outlets... have attributed anti-gay views and bigotry to Willow Palin, a minor, but none have questioned Facebook user Matt’s comments calling the Palin daughters a slur for a prostitute."

Rob Taylor at NewsReal Blog:

"It is perhaps a good sign that the Left suddenly recognizes parents’ role in their children’s behavior. The criticism of Willow Palin is overblown to be sure, and dishonest in its attempt to claim that every word written, shrieked or muttered by a teen has in some way been vetted by the child’s parents. But it’s a first step in the right direction. Perhaps after this we can get the Left to actually take responsibility for their children’s actions. Like when they’re hacking into emails, assaulting political opponents or trading child pornography. Granted those things aren’t as earth shatteringly awful as a teen calling another teen 'gay,' so I understand it the Left doesn’t get on board right away. But I remain hopeful that one day we will reach an accord, thanks to Willow Palin."

Ruben Navarrette at Recordnet.com:

"The smart thing for establishment Republicans to do right now is to stop complaining and extend a hand to Sarah Palin. She's not their enemy. And she can actually do them a lot of good by energizing the masses - the same people they like to think they represent but, in truth, barely recognize."

Roger L Simon at Pajamas Media:

"Harry Truman, the man so many seem to harken back to these days as a great president, was not known for spending his evenings reading Proust. (Yes, his daughter wrote mysteries and, yes, he played mediocre piano. But you know what I mean.) Obama — hailed as the greatest intellectual since Heraclitus — has made a botch of things. Does Palin have sufficient education and experience to be president? Compared to others who have held the office, realistically she does. But if she is nominated, look for the Times to keep raising the phony issue of her intellectual preparedness, just as they did with Bush and Reagan."

Jennifer at Cubachi.com:

"Lawrence O’Donnell got wee-wee’d up with the [New Oxford] dictionary for allowing Sarah Palin to ruin the English language, or something. He is also annoyed that for a woman, who he claims will not run for president, gets this much attention. Then why talk about her if she is so irrelevant?"

Matthew Continetti at The Weekly Standard Blog:

"Will Palin run for president? No one knows for sure—including, in all probability, Sarah and Todd Palin. What Draper's piece reveals is that, if Palin does run, she will campaign not only against the Obama Democrats but also against a Republican establishment that betrayed its principles and let down the country in the first decade of the 21st century. Fortunately for Palin, her sentiments jibe with widespread perceptions of the GOP... Palin sounds like a candidate in the Draper profile. Question is, do the other possible candidates know how to handle her? Does anyone?"

Shane Vander Hart at Caffeinated Thoughts:

"The term 'feminism' has been hijacked by the left and Sarah Palin wants to reclaim its historical roots, the forgotten history of pro-life women who fought for the 19th amendment."

Nathan Sass at The Dinner Table:

"Ronald Reagan. His name calls to mind the image of an almost invincible political force. His 1984 re-election over Walter Mondale ranks 5th all time in electoral college margin of victory at 525 – 13. That year, the entire map, save for Mondale’s home state of Minnesota and the District of Columbia were Reagan red. It’s all too easy to forget that only 6 years earlier, such a thing was seen as unthinkable. In fact, Reagan was totally dismissed by most of the punditry. (Sound familiar?) Most people 'in the know' seem to think the same thing about Ms. Sarah Palin, and I wonder if these people are oblivious to US political history."

- JP

CBS 'surprised' when Gov. Palin slaps media for promoting Levi Johnston

NewsBuster Kyle Drennen reports
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The Early Show on CBS (the network that touted made-up documents about George W. Bush's Air Guard service as "fake but accurate") had self-admitted liar Levi Johnson on as a guest half a dozen times, yet is surprised that Gov. Palin would criticize the lamestream media for promoting the crazy, mixed-up kid. Go figure:

On Friday's CBS Early Show, correspondent Nancy Cordes reported on leaked excerpts of Sarah Palin's new book, 'America By Heart,' claiming, "some of the topics she tackles may be surprising." One such topic was Palin's criticism of the media for promoting Levi Johnston: "It was disgusting to watch as his 15 minutes of fame were exploited by supposed adults taking advantage of a lost kid."

While Cordes found that comment "surprising," CBS, and the Early Show in particular, were chief among those who exploited Levi Johnston and his attacks on the Palin family. As has been detailed on NewsBusters, throughout 2009 and 2010, the CBS Early Show has featured six lengthy stories on Johnston, including three "exclusive" interviews.

At the end of her report, Cordes seemed disconcerted over Palin's criticism of the First Lady: "She even takes a swipe at Michelle Obama, dredging up that comment about being proud of her country for the first time when her husband started to win elections. This is going to be some pretty provocative stuff."

[More]

A New York Daily News columnist labeled it as more than just provocative, calling it "mudslinging." Because the left believes when a conservative directly quotes a liberal's own words, it's "mudslinging" or something...

Via Twitter Thursday, Gov. Palin made reference to the leaked excerpts:

"The publishing world is LEAKING out-of-context excerpts of my book w/out my permission? Isn't that illegal?MT @C4Palin http://bit.ly/cD6DOQ"

- JP

Dem Pundit Kirsten Powers Won't Rule Out Palin Beating Obama

"I think he's very weak right now"
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Pundits Kirsten Powers and Rich Lowry on Fox News discuss a possible 2012 Palin vs. Obama match up and the Democrats' push to let the Bush tax cuts expire:


- JP

Gov. Palin hopes to visit Israel, UK

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Now that the 2010 elections is history, Sarah Palin and her aides are turning their attention to what will be her next act on the political stage. An article for Real Clear Politics by Scott Conroy previews scenes such as travel abroad, a focus on issues and the prospect of a run for the White House:

Since resigning from office, Palin has proven time and again the primacy of her influence in the Republican Party, setting the tone and defining the parameters on issues ranging from health care to monetary policy. And she has done it by shattering the traditional rules of communication, using Twitter, Facebook, and her regular appearances on Fox News and conservative radio to bypass the traditional media to whom she and her staff have taken a special delight in deriding.

[...]

Now that the midterms are over and the campaign before the presidential campaign has begun, Palin is making some adjustments, fully aware that she cannot tweet, Facebook post, and Sean Hannity her way to the White House. She recently granted extensive interviews to the New York Times and ABC News, and her SarahPAC staff intends to make a more concerted effort to highlight to the media her prepared remarks on the frequent policy speeches she gives.

Meanwhile, Palin's ratings-shattering TLC show, "Sarah Palin's Alaska," will continue to show millions of American homes the kinder, gentler side of Palin's personality each Sunday night for the next seven weeks.

Palin's outsized influence on the midterm elections and her most recent pronouncements about her presidential intentions have caused the D.C. narrative to shift in recent weeks, as Beltway logic now holds that Palin is indeed seriously interested in running for president and could be a strong contender to win the Republican nomination.

[...]

A visit to Israel is high on Palin's current to-do list, and her staff is still hoping to arrange a trip for her to meet with one of her political heroines, former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher.

Palin has taken a particular interest in the European debt crisis as of late, and SarahPAC recently hired Joshua Livestro - a Dutch newspaper columnist who has also contributed to the pro-Palin web site Conservatives4Palin.com - to research the topic for Palin on a freelance basis.

Palin's second book, America By Heart, will be released on Tuesday and is a near shoo-in to join her first title, Going Rogue, as a quick bestseller. Unlike Going Rogue's biographical focus, Palin's new book is mostly philosophical in nature and reads as a series of essays on well-travelled topics ranging from the role of faith in the public sphere to the concept of American exceptionalism.

[...]

Palin's challenges remain numerous as she comes to a decision on whether to run for president. If the answer is indeed "yes," one of her first big moves will be planning the official announcement of her campaign-a date that one Palin confidante privately agreed will likely come later in 2011, after her lesser known opponents launch their own runs and she can assess the field.

[More]

- JP

Day By Day (November 19, 2010)

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Good Morning! It's a wonderful life if we just take it Day By Day.



Support Pro-Palin Day By Day

- JP

Quote of the Day (November 18, 2010)

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Donald Trump to George Stephanopoulos:

"She's very interesting. And don't underestimate her. I mean, I see what she does. Do not underestimate Sarah Palin."

- JP

Sarah Palin: 'Refudiation' of $600 Billion Printed Out of Thin Air

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The Wall Street Journal has published this letter to the editor from Gov. Palin:

While on a United Airlines flight from New York City to Los Angeles this week, a fellow passenger handed me a copy of the The Wall Street Journal Nov. 15 op-ed by Alan Blinder—"In Defense of Ben Bernanke"—and suggested that I write a letter to the editor if I disagreed with the Princeton University professor's claims. Having read the piece, I told the passenger over my shoulder, "You bet I will."

Prof. Blinder seems blind to the clear and present dangers of QE2. Instead of seriously discussing these dangers, he takes us on an excursion to a Keynesian utopia, a mythical land in which endless government spending is an amazingly effective job creator and investors' confidence in U.S. Treasury bonds somehow increases as we sink ever deeper into debt while the Fed has its printing presses working overtime.

Here are some cold, hard facts from the real world: The first is the 8.7% 2012 unemployment rate predicted by the Survey of Professional Forecasters of the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia. It seems the Obama administration's record spending binge won't result in job creation, but in unacceptably high long-term unemployment. The second fact is that long-term interest rates have actually gone up following the Fed's recent QE2 announcement. The markets took one look at the Fed's pump-priming plans and decided they had to increase interest rates—probably in order to compensate for the expected rise in inflation.

None of this should come as a surprise. Blinders off, common sense engaged, it's time for us to "refudiate" the notion that this dangerous experiment in printing $600 billion out of thin air, with nothing to back it up, will magically fix economic problems that were caused in large part by the government's interfering with our free market system in the first place, and then made worse by the government's reckless spending experiments with our children's fiscal future. Instead of the tired, old Keynesian ideas behind Obamanomics, we need to turn to time-tested practices that are pro-free market rather than pro-big government. Some call this "free-market populism." It's based on the realization that the best way to get the economy moving again is to get government out of the way, let the free market dictate winners and losers, and allow the private sector to grow our economy one job, one paycheck and one American dream at a time. It's the only way we can restore much needed confidence and certainty in our economy. This is the only way we will all be able to soar from New York to Los Angeles and throughout the heartland.

Sarah Palin

Wasilla, Alaska

- JP

Ron Futrell: Is This About DWTS or Something More?

"No duh. It’s a popularity contest."
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Ron Futrell at Big Journalism is enjoying the meida hysteria over the success of Bristol Palin on ABC "Dancing With the Stars." He finds it "much more entertaining than the show could ever be":

Wherever you turn there are comments about how horrible it is that Bristol is winning this “competition.” Breaking news here, DWTS is not a real show, nothing real about it. It’s fabricated to get female viewers for ABC and it’s working much better than I ever thought it would.

[...]

No duh. It’s a popularity contest.

[...]

The vitriol is everywhere. This from the Orlando Sentinel, Chan Lowe, editorial cartoonist, “The Tea Party wing nuts, still excited about screwing up the country with the elections earlier this month, are now overloading ‘Dancing With the Stars.’ There can be no other answer.” Yep. Wing nuts win again.

Like Sarah’s show on TLC, the DWTS’ ratings are going through the roof. Wing nuts win again, while the incorrectly named “progressives” sit and stew in their misery knowing that one of their bastions of liberalism (prime time network programming) has been invaded by the enemy. I say invite Ed Schultz next season and let’s see how he does. See if his three viewers call in to vote for him. Maybe Overstuffed Eddie could show up on Skating With the Stars coming up soon on ABC.

The crew on Good Morning America was booing and hissing when it was mentioned the following morning that Bristol knocked off Brandy to make it to the finals. Seriously, you could hear the booing and hissing and Robin Roberts even referred to it. I don’t expect serious journalism from GMA and my low expectations are always met.

[...]

The activist old media shell game. Europe is broke, America is broke, our President refuses to see the threat of Muslim extremists (what is “jihad?”), and the media ignores the building wave on the internet that asks serious questions about Obama’s resume, and we get a Royal Wedding and a “Dancing With The Stars” “controversy.”

[More]

- JP

Douglas Mackinnon: Parker's Sad Envy of Sarah Palin

We may be on to something here
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Douglas Mackinnon, who served as a writer for President Ronald Reagan, also worked in the Defense Department, both venues where the straightforward approach was the order of the day. It shows in his work as a Townhall.com columnist. Mackinnon doesn't BS his reader, as so many in the media do. Unlike most in the media who have written about Kathleen Parker, for example, he doesn't pretend that she's any kind of "conservative." Mackinnon prefers to call Parker what she is -- a liberal, as in his latest column for Townhall.com:

Embarrassingly for CNN host and liberal commentator Kathleen Parker, not only does she suffer from a severe case of SPDS (Sarah Palin Derangement Syndrome), but -- like a smitten tween trying to emulate her favorite actress in the Twilight series -- obvious envy and jealousy have prompted her to try and steal Palin's look based on the leather jackets Parker has been sporting of late on the air.

Ironic behavior to say the least when you consider that just last week, Parker loudly, proudly, and with a finger wagging, proclaimed on CNN that "I led..." the media assassination of Sarah Palin. That in response to filmmaker John Ziegler's accurate observation that Parker was partially responsible for the character assassination of Palin. Clearly, "partially" was not nearly enough credit for Parker. She wanted --- and her various insecurities demanded -- that she be credited with throwing the first bucket of mud which slimed Palin. Strange.

It's been asked numerous times by now, but what is it about Palin that sends wealthy, pampered, and elitist women like Parker and Maureen Dowd over the edge? Could it be something as simple as guilt? As in Parker and Dowd know full-well that they were in part -- very much like the Barack Obama they adore -- handed their status and title by the dictates of political correctness and affirmative action. Is that the truth which so enrages Parker and Dowd? That they were picked as columnists and commentators, not fully because of qualifications and experience, but because some white male editors needed to fill the "woman" space?

Before the predictable liberal attacks descend upon me, read what Parker herself once said on this very subject: "The way the market is set up, there has to be a left, there has to be a right, there has to be a conservative, there has to be a liberal, there has to be a man, a woman, a black, an Asian..." Whoops. There have to be token hires.

Okay. We may be on to something here...

[More]

- JP

Day By Day (November 18, 2010)

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Good Morning! It's a wonderful life if we just take it Day By Day.



Support Pro-Palin Day By Day

- JP

Quote of the Day (November 17, 2010)

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Shane Smith at TCU Daily Skiff:

"The more the far left hates Palin, the better off she will be in 2012."

- JP

More Quote of the Day Honorable Mention, Part 156

"Crazy" Edition
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Steele at Wild Citizen:

"It was voted 'The Biggest Lie of 2009' by the St. Petersburg Times 'Truth-O-Meter.' Sarah Palin’s Facebook article that claimed Obamacare would lead to rationing and the creation of Death Panels of bureaucrats to decide who lives and who dies. The Media and Blogosphere agreed. Sarah Palin’s article was an insane, right-wing, conspiracy theory. Death Panels were nonsense. They wouldn’t really happen. Besides, only a lunatic would actually want them. Fast forward to... 2010… Yesterday’s lies are tomorrow’s only real solution. Or so says insane, right-wing, conspiracy theorist, Paul Krugman of the New York Times... I guess lies aren’t what they used to be."

iOwnTheWorld.com:

"This Just Raised Sarah Palin’s Rating About 20 points..."

Dr. Michael Williams at Examiner.com:

"A New York Times Columnist, Paul Krugman, touched the third rail of Obamacare Sunday, while on ABC's 'This Week' when he made a statement confirming the need for 'death panels' as a means of containing health care costs. Krugman is not the first person who has advocated the use of 'death panels' and yet liberals excoriated Sarah Palin for pointing out that the Obamacare bill contains what many on the left have said needed to be done..."

Ethel C. Fenig at American Thinker Blog:

"Sarah Palin can see Washington DC from her house..."

iusbvision at The IUSB Vision Weblog:

"Those of you who think that Sarah Palin is stupid are going to get her elected by 'misunderestimating' her. Palin was a city councilman, a mayor, an energy regulator, a journalist and a governor. She held elected office for five years before Barack Obama ran for anything. She also owns a commercial fishing business. Her husband Todd is a champion racer and [was] an oil worker on the North Slope. The Palin’s position, and it’s one I share, is that the referee/government should be returned to its non-participatory and objective role. The dollar is the world reserve currency and the dollar is what is used in international oil transactions. Fish are also a commodity. Palin knows these businesses backwards and forwards... These are also the subjects that elite media journalists will never ask her about."

Rob Port at SayAnythingBlog:

"It wasn’t capitalism that caused the economic collapse. It was an unholy alliance of big business and big government... Palin’s position, and it’s one I share, is that the referee/government should be returned to its non-participatory and objective role."

Michael Suede at Fascist Soup:

"In the surreal Orwellian world of Keynesian liberalism, economics commentators view those who want to prevent a future collapse of the dollar as actually being responsible for a future collapse of the dollar. In an article entitled Will Sarah Palin and the Tea Party Cause Hyperinflation? resident Time Magazine economics idiot, Stephen Gandel, attempts to pin the coming currency collapse on lower taxes. I s___ you not.... There’s so much wrong with this idiotic nonsense that I’m having a hard time figuring out where to begin."

Rush Limbaugh:

"Sarah Palin has the intellectual curiosity to figure out that Obama is destroying the country and has to be stopped, which makes her more intelligent than Lisa Murkowski."

Stacy Drake at A Time For Choosing:

"As someone who FAILED her bar exam FOUR TIMES, Murkowski has the nerve to say that Governor Palin lacks 'intellectual curiosity.' Perhaps if Murkowski had any intellectual curiosity herself, she may have realized that daddy couldn’t hand her a law license... The notion that Governor Palin lacks the intelligence to 'craft great policy' is both insulting and bereft of fact. Murkowski, with no real policy accomplishments of her own, acts as though ACES and AGIA never happened. Lisa also doesn’t take into account the years Governor Palin spent as a City Council Member, a Mayor, and AOGCC Chair either. All positions which required more than just simple 'curiosity' to serve..."

mRed at Invincible Armor:

"Murkowski represents everything wrong in DC for many reasons, but her arrogant calculation to defeat (probably) the duly nominated Republican candidate Joe Miller, her feeling of self-entitlement and her snotty cat scratching at her opponents tell me that she hasn't a clue."

Matthew Balan at NewsBusters.org:

"[Roland Martin] was so proud of bringing his well-rehearsed label of Palin to CNN that he bragged about it on Twitter after the segment: 'Yes, quote me correctly. I did say on CNN's Anderson Cooper that Sarah Palin is the Kim Kardashian of politics. Rebroadcast at 11 pm est!' The next morning, Martin continued his self-marveling: 'Sarah Palin is the Kim Kardashian of Politics. A created celebrity who makes money for no reason whatsoever!' He also continued the attack on the Republican: '@sarahpalinusa needs to apologize to America for calling Obama a celebrity since she's one.' Actually, one could come to the conclusion that Roland Martin owes Sarah Palin an apology for comparing her to a porn star."

Guy Benson at Townhall.com:

"Absolutely nothing that Sarah Palin does seems to escape the Left's feverish, paranoid scrutiny. As they see it, her new show's ratings coup must not, and cannot, stand. She is undermined, derided, and accused of wrongdoing in virtually everything that she does, almost without exception. It's exhausting to keep up with, really."

Popgun at Popgun's World:

"I watched Sarah Palin’s Alaska the other night, along with a whole bunch of other people, which made it TLC’s number 1 launch event ever... It was a good show, and fun to watch. It was not overtly political, but I think it was a good move for Sarah Palin because it provides greater perspective on just who Sarah Palin is, how she and her family live, and how they think. You know what I mean: all the things we still don’t really know about Obama... I don’t know if Sarah Palin is going to run for President, now or later; but if she ever does, I will vote for her because we share most of our core values. But more, I would vote for her unreservedly because I think I know what I’m getting."

JoyfulChristian:

"I suspect that ['Sarah Palin's Alaska'] will go a long way towards helping her reach out to people who have a negative view of her based on the bizarre attacks lobbed at her from the right. "

Caroline Galea at The Malta Independent Online:

"Palin... will now have to be considered as a front runner for Republican presidential candidate in the 6th November elections of 2012. Leading political journalists are now likening her stance to that of another popular Republican President, Ronald Reagan. Reagan remains synonymous with his particularly easy style, charm and populist approach to politics. Things become even more complicated when one understands the Palin effect. Many are considering this an electoral victory for Sarah Palin rather than a Republican Party victory. Evidently, it was mainly Palin’s backed candidates that wrought most havoc on the Democratic Party dominance since 2008... This new set of political appointees are now seen to be in debt to Sarah Palin’s energetic efforts during this political campaign both on the ground and in the media."

- JP

Sarah Palin to Barbara Walters: I Could Beat Obama

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Gov. Palin has said in two high-profile interviews this week that she is seriously considering becoming a candidate for the White House. She replied, "I am," to reporter Robert Draper's question asking if she was considering a 2012 run.

"I'm engaged in the internal deliberations candidly, and having that discussion with my family, because my family is the most important consideration here."

Draper interviewed the 2008 GOP vice presidential candidate for a New York Times Magazine cover story to be printed Sunday.

Gov. Palin also told ABC's Barbara Walters that she is seriously weighing a run, and she believes she could beat President Obama in 2012:

"I'm looking at the lay of the land now, and ... trying to figure that out, if it's a good thing for the country, for the discourse, for my family, if it's a good thing," Palin said in an interview scheduled to air in full Dec. 9 on ABC as part of Walters' "10 Most Fascinating People" of 2010.

Asked Walters: "If you ran for president, could you beat Barack Obama?"

"I believe so," Palin said.

The full Sarah Palin interview will air Dec. 9 at 9PM CST on "Barbara Walters' 10 Most Fascinating People" special.

- JP