Palin seals McCain's fate-admits she's open to 2012 Presidential bid

Well who would be surprised to hear that Sarah PalinSarah Palin is really only worried about Sarah Palin? In an interview with Elizabeth Vargas on ABC that will air Thursday morning, Palin was asked about 2012. Her response indicated that essentially, she's just running for VP for her own political purposes and she's already looking toward 2012.

Journalists and pundits have been discussing this extremely painful jab at the McCain campaign efforts and many have expressed what one would think should be obvious to a presidential and vice presidential candidate - six days before the election is NOT the time to be talking about "if we lose, I'll continue on".

After a second presidential run, and now 72 years old, it is pretty clear that John McCainJohn McCain's efforts for the presidency are over. Is it kicking a man when he's down for his vice presidential candidate to then say on national television "I'm not doing this for naught?" That was Palin's response to Vargas's question concerning 2012. In other words, she isn't running around the country with an old dude for no reason; she has her own career to think about.

A CNN reporter who has been covering the McCain campaign indicated that a senior McCain staffer, after hearing the comments made by Palin, was essentially speechless. Well he should be. What can one say when a vice presidential candidate guts their own running mate on national television just days before the election!

Sarah Palin may have some redneck following in the Republican party but I think it is pretty fair to say that after this election the Republican party won't be the same. Here are the projections I see for the Republican party should Sarah Palin somehow convince the powers that be that she's capable of leading their future.

1) A large Democratic majority in Congress will require Republicans to rethink their political platforms. They will have to rework their populist appeal and try to show that they now feel for middle-class Americans, a group they've largely ignored in practice for decades. This would be hard to do when a Palin leadership effort comes with the baggage of $150,000 wardrobe scandals, troopergate and ethics issues she still hasn't had to answer for yet, not to mention her ties to Ted Stevens, who was recently found guilty on seven counts of fraud. Add to that time for the press to dig up nearly every decision she's ever made, and every enemy she's tried to get fired, and you end up with a political press nightmare.

2) The Republican party will begin to restructure itself in wake of these changes, but not in a healthy way. I predict that educated, intellectual voters will begin to shift their allegiances. I think it is quite possible we may also see the growth of a strong third party, something we've never seen in this country before. For this to happen would require a large chunk of senior Republicans and political intellectuals to break from their party and take a risk. It could be very successful, but I'm not certain how likely it is. This party, however, could appeal to the growing moderates within the GOP base, but would still have conservative leanings. It would fulfill the needs of intellectuals who wouldn't be comfortable with a potential Palin "leadership".

3) Once intellectuals have been siphoned from the Republican base, you'll see conservative extremists begin to take over some of the leadership in the old GOP. These are people Palin really appeals to - right-wing religious conservatives who vote on religious issues over any other, extreme NRA sectionalist's who believe individuals are their own militia and only accept American capitalism and rule because they don't want to leave America, and high school educated folks who base their votes on looks and TV appeal and don't really pay attention to politics that much. That's not to say that the old GOP wouldn't attract some middle-of-the-road types. But, I don't think they would have much moderate support overall.

4) Once the groups above begin to align themselves and take public ownership of the Rupublican party you'll see the party as a whole begin to lose solid middle-ground backing, as voters see the party swing to extremist tendencies.

This is the type of Republican party that Palin would be very successful leading - within this type of party she would have little opposition, she has the charisma to lead others under these circumstances. No one would really cares if she can answer tough questions, and all they really would need from her is to vote for their extremist views and opinions. She may not even have to actually do anything practically, but just has to admit that she agrees with them on the issues.

I believe the United States has come a long way over the past several decades, and I think there is little chance that a party aligned with such extremist views could hold any major office in this country. What Palin's supporters fail to acknowledge is the huge negative Palin has been getting from middle-of-the-road folks. In order to win a national office you have to be able to appeal to this middle ground base. Palin doesn't do that very well.

And Palin's negative ratings aren't just because of Obama, or McCain and the economic crisis that is looming. There are many things that the John McCain of 2000 would have done, said, or encouraged to have kept this race on a more even keel. Instead it has to do with McCain having propped up a candidate who is just simply not prepared for the job, then blaming everyone but themselves when they aren't warmly received by the press and everyone else.

Not only that, but Palin is herself at fault here. She must have known, intuitively, that she just wasn't prepared. But, she thought only of herself and her own political career, and how much this would thrust her onto the national stage. She must have also realized that for her, it was a win-win. If McCain wins the White House, she's vice president, and potentially president some day. If he doesn't, she now has a national name, fully funded by the RNC.

Now, she might be able to study over the next four years, but my question would be this. If it is now coming to light that Palin has been really vying for a national scene for some time now, why hasn't she shown more interest in national and international affairs? If it is true that more than a year ago she had been thinking about her potential on a national ticket as VP, why hasn't she done more to prepare herself? She knew enough to align herself with the right people to get her there, but what about actually preparing herself for the job? Like, boning up on international affairs? Making trips abroad? Getting more involved in national associations and events?

My guess is, she has slid into her current position on a wing and a prayer, and her good looks and gracious persona. She fully expected that it would be enough to get her to the next level. I don't think Palin will ever be a serious, and studious, national candidate. She's a nice-looking, intelligent gal who loves the attention, and is a great politician, but that isn't going to be enough to trust her into the national stage and have the type of middle-ground backing she'd need to make it.

In fact, the more I think about it now, the more I actually hope that Sarah Palin makes a run for president in 2012. I'd love the opportunity to campaign against what she stands for, and to hopefully send her packing once and for all. Obviously she's not going to take no for an answer, and she certainly isn't going to believe the American people don't want HER, even she does her best to look out for Sarah these last few days of the election.

No, Sarah Palin won't go quietly into the night because she hasn't been fully noodle-whipped yet. She believes that everything that is, or has gone wrong for her these past few months has been the fault of everyone but her - the press (and their darn gotcha journalism), the McCain staffers, who, doggonnit anyway, decided she should pull for the campaign instead of step out of bounds, and the voters who are just too dang "unAmerican" if they don't believe in her cause.

What will it take to get Sarah Palin off the national stage? Most likely, nothing less than one huge, nasty, obvious reality-check from the American public. If she decides to run in 2012, I believe that's exactly what she'll get!