Her supporters say that she is the leader of a revolution, her opponents say that she is crazy. It seems now, ever so clear that Sarah Palin is crazy; crazy like a fox. Consider these recent moves; her resignation, her farewell speech, and her facebook takedown of Obamacare. In all of these instances Sarah Palin has had the last laugh.
When Sarah Palin left the governor’s office early, many suggested her political career was over. Many could not understand how leaving office early would help her in a presidential run. The move was unique in American politics, because we have never had a President come directly out of Alaska or Hawaii. Attempting to travel from Alaska to Iowa or New Hampshire would have been daunting at best, impossible at worst. If we ever have a President that resides in Hawaii, he or she will likely face the same hurdle. She has a record as governor and as chairwoman of a major energy commission before that, and if one wants to be technical, our current President has been in public life since 1996, Sarah Palin has been in public life since 1992. Far from being politically irrelevant, Sarah Palin has proven that her resignation has not spelled the end to her relevancy in American politics.
Former Huckabee campaign manager Chip Saltsman has commented that Sarah Palin’s farewell speech sounded much like a stump speech for a presidential candidate. Even her critics had to admit that it was a good speech. She highlighted her accomplishments as governor and went after the prevailing Washington insider mentality.
This brings us to the most recent move by Sarah Palin, her policy statement on Obamacare. While many liberal and conservative elites continue to denounce her reference to “death panels,” it would appear that her comments moved public opinion. The provision that she went after was stripped from the bill, and President Obama has now moved from suggesting that a public option is necessary, to saying that it was a part of, but not essential to his plan.
Pollsters can fix the outcome of a poll depending upon how they ask a question, the surest way to determine the political reality is to observe how politicians react and what their maneuvers are. The public reacted positively when Sarah Palin led the charge against the end-of-life provision, and the politicians reacted accordingly. That demonstrates, more than any poll, the political reality.
