Republican establishment takes on Sarah Palin
Sarah Palin may have notched some political victories this past week, including a pretty good win-loss record among candidates she endorsed. But she鈥檚 also under fire for some of her recent decisions and pronouncements 鈥� in this case not from liberals, but from senior voices in her own party.
Starting from the top, GOP critics of Palin reportedly include former president George W. Bush.
鈥淭he 43rd President has told friends the ex-Alaska governor isn't qualified to be President and criticizes Arizona Sen. John McCain for putting Palin on the 2008 GOP ticket and handing her a national platform,鈥� New York Daily New Washington bureau chief Thomas DeFrank reported Friday.
"He thinks McCain ran a lousy campaign with an unqualified running mate and destroyed any chance of winning by picking Palin,鈥� a Republican official 鈥渇amiliar with Bush鈥檚 thinking鈥� told DeFrank.
Karl Rove, Bush鈥檚 political mastermind, had already questioned whether Palin had the 鈥済ravitas鈥� to be president 鈥� or even the fortitude to withstand the rigors of a long, bruising campaign.
In recent days, two former Republican speechwriters have weighed in unfavorably on Palin as well.
Michael Gerson, a top aide in the Bush White House, says that in some ways Palin has become 鈥渁 threat to the Republican future.鈥�
Most recently, Gerson , that鈥檚 the result of her endorsement of Constitution Party gubernatorial candidate Tom Tancredo in Colorado. Tancredo, a former Republican congressman, is a divisive figure best known for his virulent, sometimes racist anti-immigrant pronouncements
鈥淗er endorsement raises the question of whether Palin has any standards for her support other than anti-government rhetoric,鈥� Gerson writes. 鈥淓ither as a power broker or a candidate in the 2012 election, Palin's increasingly erratic political judgment should raise Republican concerns.鈥�
Tough stuff, for sure.
Tougher still is what former Reagan speechwriter and Wall Street Journal columnist Peggy Noonan had to say about Palin this week.
What set Noonan off was Palin鈥檚 recent Fox News comment about an icon among past Republican presidents: 鈥淲asn't Ronald Reagan an actor? Wasn't he in 'Bedtime for Bonzo,' Bozo, something? Ronald Reagan was an actor.鈥�
鈥淓xcuse me, but this was ignorant even for Mrs. Palin,鈥� , who then went on to note Reagan鈥檚 professional career as president of the Screen Actors Guild and then governor of a large and complex state for eight years before entering national politics, challenging his party鈥檚 sitting president (Gerald Ford), and popularizing modern conservative political philosophy 鈥� all before winning two terms as president.
鈥淭he point is not 鈥楬e was a great man and you are a nincompoop,鈥� though that is true,鈥� Noonan wrote, contrasting Palin with the 40th president. 鈥淭he point is that Reagan's career is a guide, not only for the tea party but for all in politics. He brought his fully mature, fully seasoned self into politics with him. He wasn't in search of a life when he ran for office, and he wasn't in search of fame; he'd already lived a life, he was already well known, he'd accomplished things in the world.鈥�
Palin鈥檚 retort to such criticism is that she鈥檚 fighting the political establishment, including the Republican establishment 鈥� some of which she labels 鈥渟leazy.鈥�
Will it make any difference in a Palin run for the presidency in 2012, something she鈥檚 suggested she might do? Very possibly, given the likely opposition she鈥檇 face in party primaries.
For all her political clout and celebrity (her own reality TV show will launch this month), most Americans view Palin鈥檚 suitability for the presidency the same way former president Bush reportedly does.
According to the latest ABC News/Washington Post poll, just 27 percent of those surveyed see her as qualified for the presidency while 67 percent say she鈥檚 not qualified.
鈥淧alin appears to have gained little luster from the success of the tea party political movement with which she'd aligned,鈥� ABC News reported. 鈥淛ust 39 percent of registered voters see her favorably, the most basic measure of a public figure's popularity.鈥�
Judging by those recent comments from GOP higher-ups, that apparently includes many Republicans.
