According to ABC:
Sarah Palin says she is seriously considering a run for the White House, and she believes she could beat President Obama in 2012, the former Alaska governor told ABC News' Barbara Walters.
"I'm looking at the lay of the land now, and ... trying to figure that out, if it's a good thing for the country, for the discourse, for my family, if it's a good thing," Palin said in an interview scheduled to air in full Dec. 9 on ABC as part of Walters' "10 Most Fascinating People" of 2010.
Asked Walters: "If you ran for president, could you beat Barack Obama?"
"I believe so," Palin said.
This brings me back to 1975 when former California Governor Ronald Reagan was making noises about challenging President Gerald Ford for the 1976 GOP nomination. At first, Reagan was coy. But he eventually threw his hat into the ring and came within arm's length to beat Ford at the 1976 Republican National Convention in Kansas City, Missouri. I was a California Reagan delegate at that convention and at the 1980 GOP Convention in Detroit, Michigan and the 1984 GOP Convention in Dallas, Texas.
Above, President Reagan signs invitations for the 1980 California Delgation at a White House reception in June, 1982. I am in the background at left just above someone's white shoulder.Palin's statement goes much further than Reagan's position and it is much earlier.
Ford, of course, was defeated by Jimmy Carter. Here we have somewhat a similar parallel. Carter became unpopular due to his policies and his handling of the Iranian hostage situation. Obama's election in 2008 has been described as being "Jimmy Carter's second term." While their policies have some similarities, Obama is a pure ideologue (he believes in his policies), whereas Carter was a bungling buffoon. Reagan beat Carter in 1980 in a landslide.
While I am not saying that Sarah Palin is the "second coming of Ronald Reagan," but she also has a way of speaking over the heads of the media like Reagan did to connect with voters. She uses Twitter and Facebook extensively.
At the end of the 2008 campaign, I wrote "To Governor Palin" on this blog. In it, I made some suggestions:
1. Continue to be an excellent governor of Alaska. Build up your record of accomplishment and reform.
2. Travel. When possible, keep connected to the Republicans around the country. Visit foreign countries and meet with foreign leaders. Build up your foreign policy credentials.
3. Follow the Reagan Model: Start a political action commmittee similar to Reagan's Citizens For The Republic to express your views and as a platform for supporting mid-term candidates. Start a weekly radio commentary program. Raise funds.
On number one, we all know that Palin resigned as governor due to harassing lawsuits (she had to pay her own legal expenses out-of-pocket). While I feel that resigning was a mistake, I do understand why. Initially, she may have hurt herself politically, but seems to have bounced back.
On number three, she formed Sarah PAC to raise funds for her political travels and to support candidates during the mid-term elections. Most of candidates she supported won their races and she has accumulated a number of political I.O.U.s. She is a commentator at Fox News and her show, "Sarah Palin's Alaska" (above, right) was a record-setting ratings draw for the network carrying it.
On number two, Palin still needs to travel abroad to meet world leaders and educate herself on foreign policy. She has plenty of time to accomplish this. Reagan, during his pre-presidential years, traveled abroad frequently, sometimes as a personal envoy for President Nixon. Palin needs to build up her foreign policy credentials. I am pleased to see she has started doing so. Palin delivered world-affairs speech fourteen months ago in Hong Kong.*
At present, I am inclined to support Palin. Her views are a close match with Ronald Reagan's and she has a deft way of turning a phrase almost as well. Reagan's son Michael decribed Palin as a "reincarnation" of his father in 2008.
If Palin avoids any gaffes in the next several months, she has a good shot at the 2012 GOP presidential nomination. We'll wait and see what transpires.
To read the full ABC News article, go here.
*Source: New York Times.
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