Thursday, July 28, 2011

Oh, Please

I thought something had been missing the last week to ten days: we hadn't had any mention of Sarah Palin in will-she-or-won't-she terms. Oh, we've had a little news on her bio-pic and its stunning reception by an adoring public, but nothing about her travels or speeches. Well, the drought has ended.

The former Alaska governor will headline a major "tea party" gathering in Iowa in September, just as the Republican nomination fight begins in earnest. Tea Party of America Wednesday announced Palin's participation in the Sept. 3 "Restoring America" event.

Here's how the event organizers tout her appearance:

"Governor Palin embodies the spirit of public service that our founders believed was essential to the survival of our liberties and our republic itself," Charlie Gruschow, Tea Party of America's co-founder, said in the release. "We couldn’t be more delighted to have this citizen leader who represents the values that Iowans and Americans hold so dear."

Say, what? "The spirit of public service"? Are we talking about the woman who quit before the end of her term as governor to move on to make millions writing books and making speeches and showing up at Fox News Network as a guest commentator? Who finds reasons to travel around parts of the country in a luxurious bus at key points in Republican campaigning for the presidential nomination and makes sure the media follows her every step? Public service?

The press is once again aflutter with the thought that this time, by God, this time she really will announce her intention to run. Really. After all, Labor Day traditionally starts the get-serious phase for such campaigns.

And if she does surprise me and officially enters the race, the calculus changes in all sorts of ways.

A new Gallup poll shows a wide-open race for the GOP nomination if Palin and Perry, along with former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani, join the field. Romney leads the pack with 17% support among national respondents, followed closely by Perry at 15% and Palin at 12%.

If the field is limited to those who have formally entered, Romney is a more decided front-runner at 27% support, followed by Bachmann at 18%.


Of course, those numbers can and will change over the next month to six weeks, but what won't change is the press's continued fascination with the woman.

I think I'll add pizza to my popcorn diet.

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3 Comments:

Blogger Florence said...

I have designated my blog as a Palin-free zone.

5:07 AM  
Blogger Diane said...

I probably should, but I'm having too much fun with the GOP presidential race. Far too much fun.

5:14 AM  
Blogger Florence said...

I wish I could just laugh her off--it would be so much better for my blood pressure!! LOL!!

6:22 AM  

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