LAPLACE, Louisiana –How could I resist? Here I am at Laplace, Louisiana, en route to another city in Louisiana, on a quick stop. I check the Internet and there it is: a post that says some of what I suggested in an earlier post. So I want to say what I always wanted to say:
As I’ve noted before, no, Sarah Palin lovers and admirers, your heroine is NOT universally loved, admired or — in some quarters — even respected as a politician. To some she is anathema. In THIS POST written about three hours ago I mentioned one segment of the electorate that would avoid her and avoid Newt Gingrich because she is now defending the world’s highest paid historian strongly.
And now, here in the beautiful state of Louisiana, as I get online for a few minutes, I see this must-read-in-full-post by The Huffington Post’s always must-read Howard Fineman that gives several reasons why Gingrich’s campaign is quickly deflating (I will get to those and give an extensive commentary on this later this evening when I reach my destination city). Here’s what Fineman says that fits in with what I wrote earlier. Among the reasons he believes and his reporting confirms that Gingrich is quickly deflating in Florida is this one:
The Palin Factor. Some D.C.-based establishment types were preparing to reconcile themselves to former House Speaker Gingrich, if not outright endorse him, before or after the South Carolina primary last week. But according to one such insider, who asked not to be identified because of her prominent corporate lobbying role, Gingrich fatally said on Jan. 18 — three days before the primary — that he would offer former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin a “major role in the next administration if I’m president.” That one statement scared the accept-Newt, Republican-establishment types. “That sure did it for me, and I think for a lot of other people in town,” the lobbyist said.
And I am sure that has been the reaction of many others. Palin may have those who feel she is brilliant, talks to the common man and woman, has such charisma that she instantly persuades, but there are others including GOPers (do a search on Karl Rove’s comments if you need one instance) who don’t feel that way.
Palin is a turn off to many centrists, moderates, independents — and Republicans. Read Fineman’s entire piece, in case I don’t get to it later.
Joe Gandelman is a former fulltime journalist who freelanced in India, Spain, Bangladesh and Cypress writing for publications such as the Christian Science Monitor and Newsweek. He also did radio reports from Madrid for NPR’s All Things Considered. He has worked on two U.S. newspapers and quit the news biz in 1990 to go into entertainment. He also has written for The Week and several online publications, did a column for Cagle Cartoons Syndicate and has appeared on CNN.