2012 US General Election Discussions: Start to Finish

[AtLast]

Originally Posted by dreadgeek

So Palin has canceled the rest of her "I love the America that loves me tour" and gone back to Alaska half-way through. At this point, I think that pretty much wraps it up for any speculation about her running for President. Not even the Democrats could avoid making her tendency to quit things half-done an albatross. Hell, that ad writes itself. "Sarah Palin quit being governor after 20 months. She quit her 'bus tour of America' halfway through. Would she quit being President after that proved not to be fun either?"

That said, I didn't think she was going to run. She makes a hell of a lot more money and can be much more irresponsible and uninformed if she's a pundit. Since she'll never be making policy, she doesn't have to actually know anything, she can just throw firebombs at the Democrats or at liberals, claiming that anyone who would even think of voting Democrat is not just in sympathy with Al Qaeda or North Korea but is ACTUALLY Kim Jong-Il. If she's a serious contender for President, she can't do that.

My read on Palin is that she is a grifter and she has hit on a fantastic scam. Go out amongst the people, stoke up their resentments, pretend to be 'just like them' and, don't ya know, there's this book you can buy or this DVD you can buy or this tee-shirt or watch the reality TV show. She'd be a fool to give up that scam for a responsible job like POTUS. She may be woefully under-informed about any particular subject you care to mention (Paul Revere etc.) but she's not a fool.

Cheers
Aj

Your take on her strikes me as right on! She has found a better gig than Ginrich did. Both of these people view politics as their gravy train. Huckabee may also be in this camp.

No, she is not a fool at all. She's laughing all the way to the bank as "they" say.

I thought she might continue the bus tour in terms of wanting to build up a nominee contender like Santorum who seems like her "brand of tea."

Besides all that, Bachman has taken over the spotlight for a woman nominee and I think the Christian-right sees her as a more viable "candidate" to push their agenda in the GOP and the platform that surfaces for the 2012 race.

Huntsman jumped in and I actually have to give some kudos for this statement- "I respect the president," Huntsman said. "He and I have a difference of opinion on how to help the country we both love. But the question each of us wants the voters to answer is who will be the better president, not who is the better American."

He breaks away from all the Obama as "not an American" BS and away from all the nutso-crazy spins from so many of the Tea Party crowd. He could be viewed as a serious contender against Obama. I would love to be behind the scenes at Obama re-election headquarters as they discuss the possible GOP field in terms of who would be the GOP candidate that could beat Obama. And he is vulnerable, I think. Although, his team in 2008 kept their eyes on real prize- electoral votes. But, 2012 could be a very different situation.

The Democrats have got to stay focused on job creation and getting the jobless rate down. Yes, I say this because I want Obama re-elected, but also because damn it, people in the US are having a hell of a bad time in this economy and what is the future going to be like for young people entering the job market?

I think Obama strategists need to knock off trying to talk about the economy in terms of what Obama walked into (inheriting Bush's mess) and build the case for his methods and policies being a more solid way to re-build the US economy. They have to find a way to make the general population understand that we do need to invest in infra-structure for the kinds of jobs that are a reality in our future. A very tough sell.
One that has to be done.

For me, thinking of Obama as a one-term president is fraught with fear of the Health-Care Reform Acts being repealed because these are visionary and do need the test of time for people to see that economically they make sense and that they will bring a healthier and stronger workforce along that represents all of the people. The GOP has thwarted health care based upon a free society since FDR. It is a fucking big deal!