Former Alaska governor Sarah Palin announced Wednesday evening that she would not be running for president in 2012.Nobody should cry for Palin. Sure, the Conservative spin is already painting her as a victim (surprise) by alleging that liberals would have ripped her and her family a new one had she declared. This is obvious bullsh*t, given the fact that Conservatives were the very ones leaking post-campaign details about her cattiness and lack of intelligence. There's also the matter of Palin using this extended political c*ck tease[1] to amass a fortune of $22M and counting. Sure, her earning potential's gonna take a dive from here on out, but how many other private citizens with no real Day Job do you know who've made that kinda paper in post-racial America without taking penetentiary chances? I'll wait here while you go compile that list.
On the Mark Levin radio show Wednesday evening, Palin said she believed she would have more impact outside of the race. The decision ends over a year of speculation about the 2008 Republican vice presidential nominee’s plans.
“Not being a candidate, really you are unshackled and you’re able to be even more active,” she told Levin. “I need to be able to say what I want to say.”
Palin is still a huge star, but she has steadily sunk in polls since the 2008 campaign. If she ran and fared poorly, it would only diminish her influence.
While she maintains a loyal fan base, Palin reached a tipping point in polls months ago. Had she gotten into the race at this late stage, she would have been a second-tier candidate at best. She polls in the single-digits, gets mixed reviews on her leadership qualities even among Republicans, and performs poorly against President Obama in head-to-head matchups.
In the latest Washington Post-ABC News poll, 66 percent of Republican and GOP-leaning respondents said they did not want Palin to run.
I've gotta be honest. Despite what some pundits are saying, I don't see how this is a win for Palin in any way, shape, or form. The people she's strung along for nearly 3 years now should feel betrayed, which likely means her next book catches a brick. There's no way she can "influence" the GOP race anymore either. Why would anyone care for her opinion if she isn't actually running herself? I'm sure there are plenty of suckers left out there, willing to be strung along for another 5 years, but probably not as many as there were. Not another $22M worth of suckers, that's for sure.
Happy Trails, Miss Sarah. It's been un-real.
Question: What's Sarah Palin's next money-making move, now that her political aspirations have been exposed? Should I permanently lift my Sarah Palin Lifetime Ban now?!?
[1] Yeah, I called it that. Got a problem?
