The Bemidji Pioneer has a report about the Beltrami County Republicans presidential straw poll:
... With 46 delegates voting in the straw poll, both Hucabee [sic] and Pawlenty scored nine votes, good for 19.6 percent each.
Delegates at their annual convention were told that Hucakbee [sic] won the straw poll, followed by Pawlenty, but Cobb said a data input error occurred when posting the results into an onsite computer.
Delegates picked from a list of 23 potential presidential candidates, including newcomer billionaire Donald Trump, who got 4.3 percent of the vote. ...
... Among notables, former U.S. House Speaker Newt Gingrich and former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney each had three votes or 6.5 percent. Former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin got none. ...
Sarah Palin may be scared of reporters, authors, bloggers, columnists and cartoonists, but Donald Trump is scared of germs. He considered running for office in 2000, but couldn't bring himself to shake hands with the voters. Time magazine's Margaret Carlson was, I believe, the first to write, in 1999, about Trump's phobia:
... I have come to New York to see if Trump, the umpteenth person to form a presidential exploratory committee this year, is as big a jerk as he sometimes seems to be. Not that being a jerk automatically disqualifies a person from becoming a candidate these days: anyone with airfare and a website can jump in. But he's the first real estate developer with a skyscraper-size ego to run, a man famous for prompting Marla Maples' tabloid headline BEST SEX I'VE EVER HAD, and for refusing to shake hands for fear of germs. As he shakes mine, I ask him if he's got over this phobia. "I don't mind shaking the hand of a beautiful woman," he croons. "It's worth the risk."...
Palin' in Progress might be a better title for this TIME cover story about Sarah Palin. It was written with the help of Rebecca Mansour, Sarah Palin's "speechwriter."
Apparently, however, Mansour isn't entirely happy with the article. About 7:00 AM PST, she tweeted, "Every other line in this TIME piece gibberish. Obama "hiring his way out of a recession." No, Palin accused him of "spending" his way out."
But GOP12 posted what it may consider to be points Palin scored with the article:
1. Palin thinks Obama is vulnerable, and she implies that she is the one to take him on. "In battleground states, he's polling at 40% or below," she notes.
2. "The country is rejecting his agenda ... My vision of America is diametrically opposed to his. He sees America as the problem. I see America as the solution."
3. Asked what she makes of Obama's presidency thus far, Palin quipped, "Two words: Jimmy Carter."
4. Asked who can beat him, she needed seven more: "Someone who can draw a sharp contrast."
The weakness of these "points" is illustrated by my ability to easily rebut them:
1. What can I say? Palin has more reason to be embarrassed by her poll numbers. For a while, after the Republicans' 1994 takeover of the House, it was thought that Bill Clinton couldn't be reelected. He was and presided over four years of prosperity and low unemployment. When he left office in 2001, he left a budget surplus to Republicans, who quickly squandered it and racked up unprecedented debt. "Sarah Palin Is 'Virtually Unelectable' " puts Palin's attempt to crow about polls into perspective.
2. Her assertion that President Obama sees America as the problem while she sees it as the solution is just another attempt to gin up some controversy. Palin's "argument" about American exceptionalism originated in a remark Obama made when responding to a reporter's question at a news conference:
Q Thank you, Mr. President. In the context of all the multilateral activity that's been going on this week -- the G20, here at NATO -- and your evident enthusiasm for multilateral frameworks, to work through multilateral frameworks, could I ask you whether you subscribe, as many of your predecessors have, to the school of American exceptionalism that sees America as uniquely qualified to lead the world, or do you have a slightly different philosophy? And if so, would you be able to elaborate on it?
PRESIDENT OBAMA: I believe in American exceptionalism, just as I suspect that the Brits believe in British exceptionalism and the Greeks believe in Greek exceptionalism. I'm enormously proud of my country and its role and history in the world. If you think about the site of this summit and what it means, I don't think America should be embarrassed to see evidence of the sacrifices of our troops, the enormous amount of resources that were put into Europe postwar, and our leadership in crafting an Alliance that ultimately led to the unification of Europe. We should take great pride in that.
And if you think of our current situation, the United States remains the largest economy in the world. We have unmatched military capability. And I think that we have a core set of values that are enshrined in our Constitution, in our body of law, in our democratic practices, in our belief in free speech and equality, that, though imperfect, are exceptional.
Now, the fact that I am very proud of my country and I think that we've got a whole lot to offer the world does not lessen my interest in recognizing the value and wonderful qualities of other countries, or recognizing that we're not always going to be right, or that other people may have good ideas, or that in order for us to work collectively, all parties have to compromise and that includes us.
And so I see no contradiction between believing that America has a continued extraordinary role in leading the world towards peace and prosperity and recognizing that that leadership is incumbent, depends on, our ability to create partnerships because we create partnerships because we can't solve these problems alone.
It's clear that Palin, who relies on a poorly informed speechwriter for her opinions, takes The President's remarks out of context to support her contention that Obama doesn't believe that America is exceptional. The deemphasized portion of the President's remarks, above, is the portion used by Palin to support her claim.
Snowbilly's post, "Strike three! You're out, Sarah Palin!," counts three other ways Sarah Palin or her ghostwriter (speechwriter?) take things out of context in a farcical attempt to buttress her opinion by citing writings that do not support her view. But, of course, Sarah Palin doesn't play by the rules -- this game doesn't have many rules -- and we aren't playing baseball; however, a little intellectual honesty isn't too much to ask.
3. In retrospect, Jimmy Carter is increasingly seen as a good president. What does Palin have to say about another one-term president, George H.W. Bush, who is respected by most Americans? He's a "blue blood."
4. Yes, there would be a stark contrast between Palin and Obama, should that race occur, and it wouldn't be favorable to Palin. Palin would pale in comparison (and contrast). That contrast has many people, even in the White House, relishing the idea of running against Palin.
The TIME article does, however, provide some insight into Palin's organization and staffing:
Like most retainers(she's a queen, if you didn't know), Palin's crew is not a team of rivals: it is devotedly, self-effacingly protective of its boss. Palin has hired some people virtually sight unseen, and yet the most important credential appears to be loyalty....
... The main gang of six — Sarah, Todd, Crawford, Mansour, Van Flein and Davis — has settled into something of a routine this year: Palin and her husband receive a daily morning briefing from Davis and Mansour via e-mail. It includes links to articles on candidates she's endorsed, what's happening inside the Beltway and around the world, and local sports news in the areas where she's traveling. The staff holds three conference calls a week —usually without Palin — but the conversation via Skype, e-mail and cell phone is continuous.
That staffing level, in terms of both quantity and quality, isn't indicative of someone seriously considering running successfully for the presidency.
Update: In the comments, Kerry noticed that TIME did an e-mail "interview" with Palin for this article. Her recent "interaction" with ABC News -- stating that she wouldn't run for RNC chair -- was also written. This information is certainly something to be filed away in long-term memory. Palin will undoubtedly claim that these are examples of "talking" with the media.
Update, Dec. 10: Chris Matthews is on the case. He asks about the e-mail interview ...
... Some of the other would-be candidates and their senior advisers have known Palin over the years, primarily from her days as governor, but most have literally never met her or had a substantive talk with her. That is a strange situation to say the least; it forces them to evaluate her without any direct insight into her strengths and weaknesses. But from afar, they increasingly believe she will either become a candidate for president or play a major role in the nominating process.
Still, few express much regard for Palin's ultimate chances. One adviser to Mitt Romney, the former Massachusetts governor, and, by traditional standards, the putative 2012 frontrunner, says of Palin, "She's not a serious human being." Another Romney intimate warns, "If she's standing up there in a debate and the answers are more than 15 seconds long, she's in trouble."
One of the most experienced Republican national political operatives in the country suggests that while Palin might be envied and sleek, she lacks the endurance required for a protracted nomination fight. "She's like a cheetah. She can run really fast, but not really long." In the end, this school of thought about Palin goes, she is too polarizing to be seen as likely to beat Barack Obama, and Republicans will be too hungry in 2012 to risk nominating someone who could cost the party the White House — maybe even in a landslide. ...
Halperin goes on to describe a potential Romney campaign, then drops a dark-horse surprise:
Romney might be following the old-school candidate handbook, but it is Indiana Governor Mitch Daniels who has attracted the backing of many party elders, including George W. Bush and Dick Cheney. Daniels, like Romney, fits the profile that Obama White House advisers and experienced Republicans believe would give the GOP the best chance to beat Obama in 2012. If voters think Washington is broken and spending is out of control, Daniels, like Romney, could effectively run as a Mr. Fix-It, ready to make the hard choices that conservatives believe Obama has dodged.
Rather than address the issue of her potential candidacy, an aide to Palin "unloaded" on Romney's staff by playing victim:
“It shocks me that anyone would try to do that,” the aide said. “You’d think we’d all be working together toward a common goal – that being 2010 – and that should be the focus right now. Those who try to claim the mantle of Reagan would be good to follow one of his most sacred tenets.”...
... Further, the Palin aide criticized Romney’s staff for launching into attacks focused on the 2012 Republican presidential primary rather than focusing on November’s midterm election.
“She’s not focused on promoting herself or disparaging other Republicans,” the aide said. The Republican Party is “not worried about 2012. We should be focused on 2010.”
Is Sarah Palin following Reagan's "most sacred tenets?" One was "never speak ill of another Republican," yet Palin is robo-calling Georgia to tell people that the Republican opponents of the Republican candidate she's endorsed for Governor are, "kind of saying those kinds of crazy things about her. ... Karen's opponents aren't always telling the truth about her views."
And Sarah Palin isn't promoting herself? Can anyone believe that after the book tour, photo shoots, TeaVee appearances, speaking engagements and reality show?
IM's post of this morning has the identity of the Palin aide who went to Politico's Andy Barr to unload.
Update: Vanity Fair reports that Mitt Romney has -- gasp! -- twittered in an attempt to shut-up the dueling anonymous sources. Isn't that leadership?
The Bemidji Pioneer has a report about the Beltrami County Republicans presidential straw poll:
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