# Palin's political future **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [October 9, 2008, 4:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/palins-political-future/467176 "2008-10-09T16:02:23Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Morgenstern](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Morgenstern](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morgenstern)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2008, 5:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/palins-political-future/467176/21 "2008-10-09T17:00:49Z")
I don’t know if many of you are aware of Mudflats or not. It is an Alaskan political blog that keeps the Palin news on the front page. It’s a great read. [http://mudflats.wordpress.com/](http://mudflats.wordpress.com/) BTW, the Troopergate report is due tomorrow, assuming the committee releases it. The Reps. have asked for it to be sealed until after the election. ---
**Author:** ![Steve\_MB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steve_mb/32/5339_2.png) [@Steve\_MB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Steve_MB)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2008, 5:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/palins-political-future/467176/22 "2008-10-09T17:02:16Z")
The two main obstacles are 1)How damaging will the Troopergate report be? and 2)How much of the “Dan Quayle” image will permanently stick? ---
**Author:** ![Mighty\_Girl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7bcc69/32.png) [@Mighty\_Girl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mighty_Girl)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2008, 5:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/palins-political-future/467176/23 "2008-10-09T17:03:42Z")
> [@gonzomax](#): > > She is very ambitious. This was not her time, but she jumped at a chance for the big stage. She seems to love it. She has brought the neanderthal wing of the repubs together. The religious nuts, black hating ,liberal detesting ,book burning part of the party has their hero. She will go a long way and make a shit load of money. Alaska is too small to hold her. You are assuming that the electoral map will remain unchanged. There is a chance the political spectrum will move left as a whole. Liberal will stop being a slur, a bad word. I don’t see how post-defeat the Republicans will run with the same agenda as now. If the stay where they are they will be ran over by the stampede heading left, in my HO that is. To be successful Palin will have to reinvent herself. You can’t win with the minority that shares your ideas to a T. ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2008, 5:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/palins-political-future/467176/24 "2008-10-09T17:11:12Z")
I think her political career has basically peaked. She’s been effectively discredited as a plausible national candidate. That’s over in 26 days. She’ll go back to Alaska to face her ethics allegations and finish out her term as Governor, but by the time 2012 rolls around, she will have basically been forgotten on a national level. I think she will probably make some kind of effort to challenge for the Republican nomination (if she isn’t in prison), but I don’t think it will go far. A reelection as Governor of AK (if she’s not in prison) is more likely. One thing about Palin, though, is that I think she’s first and foremost a famewhore. Once she figures out that her political ambitions are delusional, I predict she’ll end up with a television show – probably on Fox News. She’ll probably get Van Sustern’s spot. ---
**Author:** ![RedSwinglineOne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/a9adbd/32.png) [@RedSwinglineOne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RedSwinglineOne)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2008, 5:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/palins-political-future/467176/25 "2008-10-09T17:33:31Z")
> [@Jack\_Batty](#): > > I was thinking California. Hollywood. For Fox’s newest sit-com “Love That Palin!” No, I see it more as a drama. Every week she gets in a situation where she has to do something she is completely unqualified for, like try a court case, perform surgery, engineer a bridge, or fly a plane. She struggles at first, but she manages to succeed using her mavericky hockey-momness. ---
**Author:** ![guizot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guizot/32/3636_2.png) [@guizot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/guizot)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2008, 5:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/palins-political-future/467176/26 "2008-10-09T17:37:02Z")
> [@Mighty\_Girl](#): > > Even so, when was the last time a defeated candidate came back and successfully ran again? Off the top of my head, I’d point out Richard Nixon. ---
**Author:** ![Stuffy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f17d59/32.png) [@Stuffy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stuffy)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2008, 5:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/palins-political-future/467176/27 "2008-10-09T17:38:27Z")
> [@gonzomax](#): > > She is very ambitious. This was not her time, but she jumped at a chance for the big stage. She seems to love it. She has brought the neanderthal wing of the repubs together. The religious nuts, black hating ,liberal detesting ,book burning part of the party has their hero. She will go a long way and make a shit load of money. Alaska is too small to hold her. What he said. ---
**Author:** ![BaneSidhe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/c5a1d2/32.png) [@BaneSidhe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BaneSidhe)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2008, 5:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/palins-political-future/467176/28 "2008-10-09T17:40:51Z")
> [@Marley23](#): > > Not until Robert Byrd beats him in a footrace. You know as well as I do what the root word of “Senator” is- those guys hate to leave their posts. In a way, an election loss might be freeing for him politically. Robert Byrd will die in office, I kid you not. I was watching the local news a few weeks back and saw him making a speech. He is NOT in good shape and you can tell that his mind is starting to go. Say what you will about him, he’s a decent fellow [I know several people who know him quite well] and one helluva orator. ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2008, 5:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/palins-political-future/467176/29 "2008-10-09T17:40:52Z")
> [@Marley23](#): > > Fred Thompson had a perfect image and zero enthusiasm, Palin has the opposite. But I think you’re right that the result will be similar. At least Fred had his acting career to fall back on. (I always liked him on _Law & Order_). > [@ShibbOleth](#): > > and run as a [Maverick](http://i165.photobucket.com/albums/u51/vkr_bibin/Maverick%20Almudena/Maverick_Almudena_8_vkr-actress.jpg). I don’t know who the hell that is, but I LOVE her outfit. 😛 Count me in with those saying FOX comentator. I could see her giving Billo some real competition to see who gets to be “Worst Person in the World” the most on _Countdown_. Keith Olbermann’s gotta be salivating over the possibilities. ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2008, 5:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/palins-political-future/467176/30 "2008-10-09T17:48:02Z")
> [@Mighty\_Girl](#): > > Even so, when was the last time a defeated candidate came back and successfully ran again? > [@guizot](#): > > Off the top of my head, I’d point out Richard Nixon. Yeah, and we saw how well THAT worked out! 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2008, 5:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/palins-political-future/467176/31 "2008-10-09T17:50:44Z")
Well, if Geraldine Ferraro is any indicator, she’ll be an advisor to someone else’s bid in the Republican primaries of 2032 and get bounced when she makes an embarrassing remark along the lines of “Those people are just bigoted against someone who likes Jesus, you betcha!” ---
**Author:** ![42fish](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/4/b487fb/32.png) [@42fish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/42fish)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2008, 6:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/palins-political-future/467176/32 "2008-10-09T18:11:30Z")
> [@RedSwinglineOne](#): > > No, I see it more as a drama. Every week she gets in a situation where she has to do something she is completely unqualified for, like try a court case, perform surgery, engineer a bridge, or fly a plane. She struggles at first, but she manages to succeed using her mavericky hockey-momness. Keep the premise, but make it a reality show. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Second\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/bbe5ce/32.png) [@The\_Second\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Second_Stone)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2008, 6:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/palins-political-future/467176/33 "2008-10-09T18:53:19Z")
I’m gonna go out on a limb and say that I think that Obama/Biden will win. Palin will go back to being governor of Alaska and get reelected if she wants to. They like her spunk. Only Lou Grant hates spunk. She may go the Fox commentator route, in which case, she will have to start reading a whole hecka’va lot. She’s uneducated, not stupid. She showed discipline in the debates by not paying any attention to the question and not getting trapped trying to answer them. She had memorized her talking points well. Not to say it wasn’t an ass-spanking of epic proportions, but if she had tried to answer the questions, it could have been a whole lot worse. Oh and I’ve just decided that a Palin post requires 😉 ---
**Author:** ![burundi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/3ec8ea/32.png) [@burundi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/burundi)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2008, 7:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/palins-political-future/467176/34 "2008-10-09T19:04:00Z")
If Mike Huckabee, a Christian conservative who _doesn’t_ scare people, couldn’t win the primary this time, I don’t think Palin has a prayer in 2012. Sure, she has a very dedicated fan base. But I think that more independents and moderate Republicans are put off by her than fond of her. It also sounds like she’s done a good job of burning her bridges in Alaska. I suppose if she relocates to a different state, a la Hillary Clinton, she could get elected as a Congresswoman or governor. Maybe in Mississippi or Idaho, somewhere like that. ---
**Author:** ![vison](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/e47774/32.png) [@vison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vison)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2008, 7:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/palins-political-future/467176/35 "2008-10-09T19:12:32Z")
I have this fond dream, sort of a non-narcotic opium reverie wherein, after 8 years of decent government under Pres. Obama, the far-right religious-loony sorts of sorta, you know, have lumbered into the wilderness and crupt back into the near-oblivion they deserve. They will be ignored by future candidates for the Presidency. Then, just before I really do depart for that bourne at present unknown, an avowed Agnostic woman runs for POTUS and wins. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Hamster\_King](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/8edcca/32.png) [@The\_Hamster\_King](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Hamster_King)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2008, 7:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/palins-political-future/467176/36 "2008-10-09T19:14:29Z")
After the election she will go on to a long, prosperous career as a [videogame heroine](http://www.gametrailers.com/player/41070.html). ---
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2008, 7:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/palins-political-future/467176/37 "2008-10-09T19:24:37Z")
> [@Pochacco](#): > > After the election she will go on to a long, prosperous career as a [videogame heroine](http://www.gametrailers.com/player/41070.html). Outfit needs to be red and they SOMEHOW managed to find her a worse hairdo. Oh? You mean that ISN’T her? ---
**Author:** ![Quartz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quartz/32/267_2.png) [@Quartz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quartz)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2008, 8:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/palins-political-future/467176/38 "2008-10-09T20:17:30Z")
Palin has plenty of time. She’s laying down a marker, little more. Obama will win and absent a Democrat Disaster she’ll be perfectly positioned to fight his putative successor in 2016. ---
**Author:** ![wonky](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wonky/32/393_2.png) [@wonky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wonky)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2008, 8:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/palins-political-future/467176/39 "2008-10-09T20:21:34Z")
> [@Marley23](#): > > Fred Thompson had a perfect image and zero enthusiasm, Palin has the opposite. But I think you’re right that the result will be similar. I remember reading an editorial or blog that suggested that Republican voters have a tendency toward heroes of the week–very vocal, very enthusiastic fandoms that have extremely short shelf-lives. They gave Thompson as an example and Palin as another (this before Palin started to crash and burn). These vocal fans turn just as quickly as they support, and one misstep will turn the hero into a goat (see: Rice, Condi; Will, George; Brooks, David). ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2008, 8:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/palins-political-future/467176/40 "2008-10-09T20:22:57Z")
> [@Quartz](#): > > Palin has plenty of time. She’s laying down a marker, little more. Obama will win and absent a Democrat Disaster she’ll be perfectly positioned to fight his putative successor in 2016. Dan Quayle ran for President in 2000 and you can imagine how much traction he got. If the public perception of Palin has become fixed, even in eight years (when there will be fresh faces on the scene) she will struggle to change it. Perhaps she can hope it’s not fixed yet because she was a total unknown until a few weeks ago, but I don’t know. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/palins-political-future/467176.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/palins-political-future/467176.md?page=3)