“Finally, we have someone with the guts who isn’t bought by anyone.”
— Sarah Palin, quoted by Politico.
Trump Makes Play for Palin Vote
Donald Trump appears to be making a serious play for Sarah Palin’s supporters, the New York Times reports.
Earlier this week Trump flattered Palin “proclaiming that he would love to have her in his cabinet if he won the White House. On Thursday, Mr. Trump showed another sign of respect for Ms. Palin, hiring Michael Glassner to be his campaign’s national political director. Mr. Glassner was chief of staff for Ms. Palin’s political action committee and worked closely with her when she ran for vice president alongside Senator John McCain in 2008.”
Trump Would ‘Love’ Palin In His Administration
Donald Trump says that he’d “love” to have Sarah Palin join his administration should he be elected president, The Hill reports.
Said Trump: “She really is somebody who knows what’s happening, and she’s a special person. Everybody loves her.”
Goodbye Sarah Palin
Jack Shafer: “With no reliable cognitive talents to sell, Palin has relied on the tease that she might run for president to keep herself on a Fox News retainer. Roger Ailes has long run Fox News as a day-labor hall for Republican presidential hopefuls who wanted to turn a buck while keeping their faces before friendly voters…”
“Once famous for running for vice president and then semi-famous for contemplating a White House run, she’s now occupies the position in politics that like Journey, Styx, REO Speedwagon and other washed-up arena acts do in rock ‘n’ roll—as a memory placeholder. This is not to say that Palin will never achieve anything in politics or television again, just as it’s not a sure bet that Journey and Styx will never chart again. But with the passage of time, the chances dwindle.”
Fox News Drops Sarah Palin
“Fox News will not renew its contract with Sarah Palin, whose bombastic appearances have been a cable staple since the former Alaska governor’s failed run on John McCain’s ticket in the 2008 presidential election cycle. When asked for comment, a Fox News spokesperson confirmed the network had amicably parted ways with the governor on June 1,” Politico reports.
“When Palin was at her zenith, she made frequent appearances, and Fox installed a camera at her house. But executives consider her less relevant now, and her appearances were sometimes hampered by the vast time difference with Alaska.”
Quote of the Day
“Mr. Trump should know he’s doing something right when the malcontents go ballistic in the press!”
— Sarah Palin, on Facebook, praising Donald Trump for getting into the GOP presidential race.
McCain Defends Palin’s Bizarre Speech
Sen. John McCain said he hadn’t seen Sarah Palin’s widely-panned speech last month, but told CNN that it wasn’t a disqualifier if she wanted to run for president.
Said McCain: “If she did not give a good speech, she’s not the first politician that didn’t give a good speech from time to time, including me.”
He added Palin could still be an asset for the GOP in 2016, and said he’ll “absolutely” have her campaign with him as he seeks re-election in Arizona.
McCain Says Palin Would Be a ‘Great’ Candidate
Sen. Johm McCain (R-AZ) told the Washington Post that his former vice presidential running mate, Sarah Palin, would be a viable White House contender if she chose to run.
Said McCain: “She’s very interesting. And I’m sure she’d do great.”
A Tragedy of a Speech
Jon Stewart watched the GOP cattle call in Iowa last weekend — also known as the Fox News correspondent auditions — and had fun with Sarah Palin’s incomprehensible speech.
Donald Trump and Sarah Palin Are Not Running
Time: “Both reality television stars spoke those words in 2011, in what proved to be low-cost feints designed to drum up national attention and raise their profiles before the last presidential campaign. Now they are at it again, with what appears to be a nearly identical playbook.”
“There is no evidence that either is any more serious about an actual campaign this time — no fundraising, no staff hires, no grassroots organizing in early states. But both have the same incentives to make the nation, and the political press corps, think differently. And the political press corps, struggling at the moment to interest a nation exhausted with politics in another 20-month campaign, has an incentive to write about Palin and Trump, who truth be told are simply more fun than actual presidential candidates.”
Palin’s Bizarre Speech Panned
John Fund notes Sarah Palin’s “meandering and often bizarre” speech in Iowa proved she “clearly lacks the discipline for a full-fledged campaign.” The New York Daily News called it a “multitude of brief nonsensical tirades.”
The Huffington Post has an excerpt: “Things must change for our government. Look at it. It isn’t too big to fail. It’s too big to succeed! It’s too big to succeed, so we can afford no retreads or nothing will change with the same people and same policies that got us into the status quo. Another Latin word, status quo, and it stands for, ‘Man, the middle-class everyday Americans are really gettin’ taken for a ride.’ That’s status quo, and GOP leaders, by the way, y’know the man can only ride ya when your back is bent. So strengthen it. Then the man can’t ride ya, America won’t be taken for a ride, because so much is at stake and we can’t afford politicians playing games like nothing more is at stake than, oh, maybe just the next standing of theirs in the next election.”
The DNC had a brief response: “Thank you.”
Bonus Quote of the Day
“Yeah, I mean, of course, when you have a servant’s heart, when you know that there is opportunity to do all you can to put yourself forward in the name of offering service, anybody would be interested.”
— Sarah Palin, quoted by ABC News, on whether she’s interested in running for president in 2016.
Chris Christie Sinks to Sarah Palin Territory
A new CBS poll shows 29% of Republicans would like to see Christie run for the Republican nomination for president. But 44% say no. Only former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin’s numbers are more underwater: 30% of Republicans say they’d like to see her run, but 59% disagree.
In contrast, 59% of Republicans would like to see Mitt Romney jump into the 2016 race, while 26% believe he should stay out.
Palin Photos Show Son Stepping on Dog
Is Sarah Palin TV Tanking?
“Three months after the launch, former CNN President Jonathan Klein—whose niche digital television company, TAPP, is backing the channel—claims it’s already turning a profit,” Lloyd Grove reports.
Said Klein: “It’s going really well. She asked us from the very beginning never to talk about specific numbers, because for her she says it’s not about the numbers. It’s about the message and enabling her followers to all get together and talk freely. So I can’t give you numbers. I can tell you that she’s hit all our milestones and that she’s posting content constantly.”
“Yet while it’s impossible to know, absent hard figures, whether the Sarah Palin Channel is succeeding in attracting an audience, it’s significant that the channel’s Web traffic, expressed in terms of unique visitors, is a tiny fraction of The Blaze’s 15.3 million in September (the most recent available numbers from Media Trend). The Sarah Palin Channel, by contrast, had a barely measurable 36,000 visitors in September, according to Quantcast.”
