My former boss Jan is a white guy from South Africa now working on becoming a U.S. citizen and he once told me why he thinks Sarah Palin will at least take the GOP nomination 2012. As a business who travelled extensively on an international scale Jan likes to hear what the overseas media are saying about the global economy and even American affairs. He told me that he believes Sarah Palin was the most powerful GOP figure on the planet. He said overseas you come across only two names in American politics: Obama and Sarah Palin.  Jan told me that Sarah Palin’s is so popular that not only is she mentioned in the press overseas but her name comes in everyday conversation in places like South Africa, India, and other counties. He pointed out that you do not see either Mike Huckabee or Mitt Romney’s name anywhere overseas in either the press or in everyday conversation. Why? Because Sarah Palin is not just the GOP star she is now a SUPER-star that is burning white hot and the world overseas have taken notice.

 Judson Berger - FOXNews.com
February 07, 2010

Palin 'Would Be Willing' to Take On Obama in 2012

Sarah Palin has President Obama in her sights, telling FoxNews.com she "would be willing" to challenge him in the 2012 presidential race.

Sarah Palin has President Obama in her sights, telling FoxNews.com she "would be willing" to challenge him in the 2012 presidential race.

The former Alaska governor, in an interview Saturday on the sidelines of the National Tea Party Convention in Nashville, said President Obama's "lack of experience" has held him back his first year in office and that she would put her credentials up against his any day.

"I would be willing to if I believe that it's right for the country," Palin said when asked if she would run for president in 2012.

She qualified the statement, adding that she sees "many" other potential candidates who are "in as strong or stronger position than I am to take on the White House and if they're in a better position than I in three years, I'll support them."

But the former GOP vice presidential nominee told "Fox News Sunday": "I won't close the door that perhaps could be open for me in the future." 

Palin is doing more than simply dipping her toe in the water with tentative talk of presidential aspirations. Since unexpectedly leaving the Alaska Governor's Mansion last year, she's formed a political action committee, she's started endorsing and supporting candidates in the Republican primaries, she's published a book and she's been agitating the administration on a regular basis. 

She delivered the keynote address Saturday at the tea party convention, using it to hammer Obama as soft on terrorism. When convention organizer Judson Phillips mentioned the idea of "President Palin" in a question-and-answer session afterward, audience members leapt to their feet and burst into a chant of "Run, Sarah, Run."

In the near-term, Palin said she is going to focus her energy on the upcoming GOP primaries, and that she may support "hundreds" of candidates in the months ahead.  

"I do want competition to allow the cream of the crop to rise (in the GOP contests)," Palin said, adding that her support would translate into everything from donations to campaign rallies. "There are hundreds of candidates on local, state and on the national level that hopefully we'll be able to help."

Palin recently endorsed Rand Paul, the son of Texas Rep. Ron Paul, in the GOP primary for U.S. Senate in Kentucky. She said she was attracted to his limited government platform and that she's already donated to the campaign.  

Asked which other races she's focusing on, Palin, who's a Fox News analyst, said she'll "do whatever I can to help" the Republican nominee, whoever he or she is, against Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid in Nevada.  

"If the election were today, Reid ... would go down," Palin said.

However, she said she doesn't have any favorites in the Republican primary -- and dismissed the idea that she fancies herself a political kingmaker.

"That's going too far because I do not have that power nor desire," she said.

During her Saturday keynote address and in her interview with FoxNews.com, Palin pointed to the tea party movement as the surging political force that will make waves in the upcoming elections.

She said tea party support will "absolutely" be critical for candidates in some districts and that the GOP should not be scared of the movement.

"It absolutely helps (the Republican Party) and those who are fearful about it and those who are trying to stir up controversy about it -- they obviously are apprehensive in terms of the message getting out there, and those people are gonna get thumped because this is a good message," she said. "Who can argue this movement?"

As Palin aligns herself more closely with the evolving tea party movement, some surveys suggest she could have the support to eventually mount a competitive presidential run -- despite tough questions raised during the 2008 campaign about her experience and qualifications. A poll last week had her leading, by a few points, the pack of potential GOP candidates. The Research 2000 poll also showed Republican voters viewing her as more qualified to be president than Obama by a 4-1 margin.  

Asked whether she believes she's more qualified than Obama, Palin showed little hesitation.

"In the campaign, we tried to bring attention to the fact that Obama had really not a lot of experience. And I do say that my executive experience, as an administrator, as a team manager if you will was, and so was John McCain's as a matter of fact, was stronger and we had more experience than Barack Obama did in terms of managing huge multi-billion dollar budgets and thousands of employees ...¦ and that hasn't changed," Palin said. 

"I think that President Obama with all due respect, his lack of experience is really made manifest in the way that decisions are made in the White House today," she added.

Palin slammed Obama in her Nashville speech for his foreign and national security policies. And with health care reform on the ropes, she told FoxNews.com it's time to pull the plug.

"I sure wish that the present tool being used to reform health care would die, but I don't trust as far as I can throw them some of the people who are saying ok, we'll slow down," she said. "What they're working on today there in Congress and the White House, it needs to die."

        I want to point out some things I have noticed from what I have observed this weekend. First, Sarah Palin is taking over the Tea Party Movement, not officially, but unofficially because she is by far the favorite candidate of the people of the Tea Party Movement. Second, Sarah Palin pounded Obama mercilessly in her highly covered Tea Party speech and is setting herself as the defacto anti-Obama candidate. She is deliberately picking a knife fight with the very thinned skinned Obama and it will be interesting to see how Obama responds this week to the highly publicized pounding he took by Sarah Palin. Third, and I say this as a person who checks the news on Sarah Palin every day, but this weekend I saw Sarah Palin at a new level of supreme confidence. For me it is like watching a lioness toying with the poodle that is Obama. To use a metaphor that I believe Sarah Palin would enjoy she is on the hunt for Obama, she has him politically in her crosshairs and she is looking to stuffing and mounting his political corpse on her wall in 2012.  

There are certain things that Sarah Palin knows which at this time she cannot be forthright. She knows that she is running for president in 2012. Sarah Palin knows that she owns the Tea Party Movement. Sarah Palin knows that she is the frontrunner of all GOP 2012 contenders. Sarah Palin knows that she needs a council of advisors and thus has them. Sarah Palin knows that like Reagan she needs both a grassroots movement and a political coalition that consists not only of traditional conservatives, but also the Religious Right, social conservatives, neo-conservatives, libertarians, Reagan Democrats, and fiscal conservatives. This weekend I saw Sarah Palin taking a very big step in building this coalition. This weekend clearly shows that Sarah Palin is progressing towards the White House in 2012.

Sarah Palin's kick as* speech at Salina, Kansas yesterday can be heard at: http://www.conservatives4palin.com/ Enjoy!

“On the Mark Levin Show Thursday, The Great One rose to Sarah Palin's defense when a caller slammed the 2008 GOP vice presidential candidate for her loyalty to her former running mate John McCain (at about the 31-minute mark):”

Caller: What about Sarah Palin's endorsement of McCain? What's the story on that? She's supposed to be rogue, and it seems like a "Scratch my back, I'll scratch your back" thing. I don't know. I'm a little bummed out on her.

Levin: Well, listen. My guess is that McCain chose her to be his running mate, and she feels a level of loyalty to him. Now, that doesn't mean you have to support McCain. I have already announced that I support J.D. Hayworth, but my opinion on Sarah Palin is very high. It has not changed, and if she does it out of loyalty, you know, loyalty is a virtue as well, my friend.

Caller: That's true. I'll buy that. However, it seems to me that it's a routine like she's just another one of the [unintelligible word] or whatever. I don't know...

Levin: I don't think so. Not in any way. She's taken a lot of abuse. If you listen to her in these various interviews as I do, she's very thoughtful, very solid. And I'm guessing she's supporting McCain out of loyalty. I don't have to have any loyalty to McCain. I have loyalty to J.D. in this case because of my view that he's clearly the most conservative. On the other hand, I understand if Sarah Palin wants to back John McCain. I wouldn't vote for John McCain, but I understand her loyalty. And that really doesn't bother me that much.

Caller: All right. Well, I understand she is in a "Scratch my back, I'll scratch your back" kind of thing with him, and...

Levin: No, no, it's not "scratch your..." She's not getting anything out of backing him. In fact, she's getting some conservatives like you who are questioning her. So it's not like she's doing it to get a favor from him. He can't deliver her anything.

Caller: Right.

Levin: So if it's "Scratch your back, scratch my back" you have to assume you're getting something in return, and she's not. But now that you mention it, I could use a good back scratch, to be perfectly honest with you.

Caller: Well, you keep it up, Mark. I appreciate how great a voice you are in this dark world out here, especially in this L.A. area. So, there's a lot of us who listen to you, and I just thank you so much for everything you're doing.

Levin: Well, you're a good man, my brother, and God bless. And I appreciate you.

Caller: God bless you. When we get to heaven, I want to meet you, all right?

Levin: Ah, aren't you sweet, and thank you, my friend. And let's not do that too fast. Okay? We've got a little time left. I'm a big Sarah Palin fan. And by the way, she's a big Rush Limbaugh fan. Don't let the folks at Politico twist what Sarah Palin's spokeswoman said and so forth. Everything's copacetic.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a9IJUkYUbvI

With the exit of Oprah Winfrey now slated for 2011, is Sarah Palin, former governor of Alaska, first female GOP vice presidential candidate, mother, author, liberal hallucinogen and now television commentator, poised to fill the void left by the Queen of Talk? You betcha. Though many believe she's set her sights on the White House in 2012, Palin should get this through her head now: She would be far more influential as a talk show host than she would be as a presidential candidate, and she should start planning her career trajectory accordingly.

Now as a Sarah Palin supporter I find this insulting since I have no respect for Oprah at all, in fact I believe the nation’s largest cult consist of Oprah and a bunch of silly housewives. What also makes my blood boil is that Miss Tantaros is taking a swipe at Sarah Palin’s political future and is pretty blunt about it, she wrote:

I say this not because Palin is incapable of being an impactful politician, but because she has been profoundly hindered by the left's hateful and perplexing obsession with demeaning and destroying her at all costs. That sadly renders her a distraction to both parties - one who'd be better off stepping out of the political limelight (at least for now) and into the TV spotlight. If you think the deep division and party gridlock is bad with President Obama, the alleged uniter, at the helm, picture what a Palin candidacy - and, if that works out, a Palin presidency - would bring. She could barely govern in Alaska with the onslaught of allegations and baseless lawsuits thrown at her daily. Life in the lower 48 would be increasingly more challenging.

With all due respect Miss Tantaros you need to be corrected on some points and facts of history. First, while it is true that the leftist media have attacked Sarah Palin like no other political figure in a generation they have not succeeded in destroying her. It is true that after she had resigned as Governor of Alaska she took a hit in the polls. However, since the release of her record breaking book, her book tour, media blitz, and now a stint on FOX News she has gone back up in favorability ratings and not down. Two recent polls show Sarah Palin as the front runner of the GOP in a 2012 primary: a Zogby Poll and one by the liberal Daily Kos conducted by Research2000.

I now want to address this notion that she could not govern Alaska and that “life in the lower 48 would be increasingly more challenging”. No Miss Tantaros you are greatly mistaken and for the following reasons. First, Alaska has a deeply flawed ethics law that allows for anonymous people to file endless ethics complaints against Alaska’s governor at no cost to themselves. The Alaskan governor then has to pay a private attorney to defend them and the cost is not picked up by the State of Alaska. Sarah Palin through some 20 frivolous ethics complaints was brought to the verge of personal bankruptcy and thus was forced to resign. Now show me where there is such a flawed federal law that could be used against a sitting U.S. President? Miss Tantaros there is no parallel between what occurred with Alaska’s deeply flawed ethics laws and the U.S. Federal government.

I now want to bring up the issue that Sarah Palin is “divisive” and that this apparently is not a
good thing. Miss Tantaros is young so I will cut her some slack in knowing her U.S. History. Ronald Reagan ran for the White House three times (winning in 1980): 1968, 1976, and 1980. After losing to Gerald Ford in 1976 Reagan was ready to give up and his only support and encouragement came from Senator Jessie Helms who urged him on. In 1980 Reagan once again ran and once again he was vilified not only by the left but even more so by the GOP establishment. Undaunted Reagan led a massive conservative grassroots effort and beat the GOP establishment and won the GOP nomination. It should still be pointed out that Reagan was so divisive that do you know by what percentage he won the general election in 1980? He won by 50.7% of the vote, Obama won with 52% of the vote. Obama actually won in 2008 by a greater margin than Reagan did in 1980, thus showing that Reagan in 1980 like Sarah Palin today was quite “divisive”. Maybe if Andrea Tantaros was around between 1976 and 1980 she would have advised Ronald Reagan to get his own “talk show” and forgo the 1980 election, but history would have turned out quite differently if Reagan had listed to the Tantaros types that abounded in the late 1970’s. Also Miss Tantaros have you forgotten how vicious and relentlessly President Reagan was attacked by the left while he was the sitting U.S. President? They threw everything at him but nothing stuck earning Reagan the nickname as being “The Teflon President”, but still President Reagan managed to effectively govern the nation if the face of constant political attacks. So Miss Tantaros answer me this: if Reagan could do it then why can’t Sarah Palin as well?

By Sarah Palin

Later this week I'll head to Nashville, where I'll have the honor of speaking with members of the Tea Party movement. I look forward to meeting many Americans who share a commitment to limited government, common sense and personal responsibility. This movement is truly a grassroots, organic effort. It's not a top-down organization; it's a ground-up call to action that already has both political parties rethinking the way they do business.

From the town halls last summer to the protests and marches in the fall to the game-changing recent elections, it has been inspiring to see real people — not politicos or inside-the-Beltway professionals — speak out for common-sense conservative policies and values. As with all grassroots efforts, the nature of this movement means that sometimes the debates are loud and the organization is messier than that of a polished, controlled machine. Legitimate disagreements take place about tone and tactics. That's OK, because this movement is about bigger things than politics or organizers.