Sarah Palin

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Will Romney Pick a Businessperson Instead of a Pol?

May 7, 2012 | 3:11 PM

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I don't know who Mitt Romney will select as his vice presidential nominee. I do know that the media is speculating about the likes of Sen. Rob Portman who is the current it-boy now that Sen. Marco Rubio seems to have faded. Of course, any Republican with an Hispanic surname seems to be under consideration, too.

As long as we're speculating, I can offer a few reasons why it won't be a politician at all.

1. What good would it do to pick a pol? They don't really bring in their home states. And in the 21st century candidates have wisely eschewed this idea which is why we've had three veeps from states with three electoral votes--Cheney, Biden, and Palin. Michael Dukakis picked Lloyd Bentsen in part in the hope of winning Texas. Uh, not so much. The days of a veep pulling in a state are over.

2. Does Romney really believe you need to be a pol to be president? In his heart does Mitt Romney, the one-term governor of Massachusetts, really believe that you need to have served in a state house or Congress to be a good president? I doubt it. If he seems to believe in one thing--and that's a big if--it's effective executives, to paraphrase Peter Drucker. I think he's just as likely to look at a CEO or someone in the military as a pol. Who? His old Bain pal Meg Whitman would have been his style had she not been a hapless campaigner and pro-choice in a party that doesn't like that in their nominees. My guess is that the Romney pick is a CEO somewhere in his FEC filings because Romney likes loyalty.

3. A CEO is a long ball, which will help. If it's August and Romney is still far enough behind on the electoral map, a long ball move like a CEO might shake up the race. Of course, it'll be a vetted, not-Sarah Palin pick. Romney, the MBA, the Bainiac, is not going to repeat the no-analysis follies of the McCain campaign. There will be decision trees and PowerPoints, thinking and analyzing, before Romney settles on a business partner--with emphasis on the word business.

Nikki Haley Defends Her Guys From That Bully Barack Obama

By John Aloysius Farrell

April 5, 2012 | 2:43 PM

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Frailty and timidity are not the qualities that come to mind when one thinks of Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia. Or House Budget Committee Chairman Rep. Paul Ryan, R-Wisconsin. Or Mitt Romney. These are tough guys, veterans of the political wars, and more than capable of defending themselves.

So what possibly spurred South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, in Washington to promote her new autobiography, to think that Scalia and the others are woeful victims, needing protection from a "bully" in the White House?

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Antonin Scalia, Barack Obama, Mitt Romney, Nikki Haley, Paul Ryan, Supreme Court, Vice President

Conservatives Cite Bill Maher, Charge White House Hypocrisy

By George E. Condon Jr.

March 8, 2012 | 5:17 PM

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After a week of watching Rush Limbaugh under fire from both women and sponsors, conservatives are trying to change the subject. Or, at the least, make Democrats squirm and answer to the charge of hypocrisy. Their target is comedian Bill Maher, an outspoken liberal comedian who over the years has delighted in outrageous and controversial remarks about religion, politics and conservatives, particularly conservative women such as Sarah Palin and Christine O'Donnell.

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Bill Maher, conservatives, Limbaugh, Obama, women

Anything Possible? Don't Count on It, Sarah Palin

By Ron Fournier

March 6, 2012 | 9:17 PM

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"Anything in this life, in this world, is possible," Sarah Palin says.

Not this. No way. Sorry, Sarah, but there is no chance that Republicans will nominate you for the presidency in a brokered convention this year -- and 2016 is but a dream.

"Anything is possible for an American. And I don't discount any idea or plan that at this point isn't in my control," she told CNN on Tuesday when asked about a 2016 bid. "Anything's possible."

Would she stop her name from being placed in nomination should there be a brokered convention in August in Tampa? "I don't close any doors that perhaps would be open out there, so, no, I wouldn't close that door," she said, adding, "My plan is to be at that convention."

Palin seems to have forgotten that her poll ratings have plummeted since the summer of 2011. She is a celebrity, not a serious presidential candidate, and would be stomped by President Obama in November, according to every traditional political metric and virtually every GOP consultant with any presidential campaign experience.

Once a popular Alaska governor with a modest record of accomplishment, Palin could conceivably revive her reputation in this era of short memories. But it's hard to imagine her name atop the GOP ballot in 2016, when a cast of heavyweights who sat out 2012 will be vying for the nomination. Anything may be possible in America, but a Palin presidency is virtually implausible.

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Alaska, CNN, Palin

At CPAC, Palin Still a Rock Star

By Alex Roarty

February 11, 2012 | 8:03 PM

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Sarah Palin's visit Saturday to the Conservative Political Action Committee confirmed she remains an icon of the party's activist wing even if her clout within the GOP has diminished.

Her speech, part of which chided pundits who predict an extended presidential primary will harm the party, was interrupted frequently by uproarious applause as she offered one stinging criticism of the Obama administration after another.

The one-liners she aimed at the president delighted the crowd in ways the three GOP candidates who spoke Friday - Newt Gingrich, Rick Santorum, and Mitt Romney - never did.

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Sarah Palin

Mitt Romney's Nearly Mainly Almost Certain Nomination

By John Aloysius Farrell

February 8, 2012 | 7:31 AM

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The Nearly Mainly Almost Certain Nominee of the Republican Party won't lose much sleep over last night's unfortunate results in Colorado, Minnesota and Missouri.

Yes, it was embarassing for Mitt Romney to have to come onstage in Denver, the state he thought he had the best chance of winning, to offer congratulations to Rick Santorum (the victor of the Iowa caucuses), who had just whipped him again, in three contests.

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MItt Romney; Rick Santorum; Newt Gingrich; Barack Obama; Colorado; Minnesota; Missouri; Republican nomination; 2012 presidential campaign

President Newt? Not Likely But Scary to GOP

By Ron Fournier

January 21, 2012 | 7:00 PM

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Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich finished an astonishing comeback Saturday night to defeat front-runner Mitt Romney in South Carolina, plunging the Republican Party into a wrenching and potentially lengthy period of soul-searching: Can either of these jokers beat President Obama?

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Paul, romney, Santorum, south carolina

5 Reasons Why Santorum Can Get a Ticket Out of Iowa

By Ron Fournier

December 30, 2011 | 9:05 AM

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Sarah Palin. Michele Bachmann. Donald Trump. Rick Perry. Herman Cain. Newt Gingrich. And now, Rick Santorum: The former Pennsylvania senator is the latest in a series of GOP presidential fads. The question is, will he fade like the rest? Or peak in time for Tuesday's voting in Iowa?

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Iowa, Rants, Santorum

Whatever Happened to Sarah Palin?

By Beth Reinhard

December 23, 2011 | 8:38 AM

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Sarah Palin always had a knack for making a splash just when she was teetering on the edge of irrelevance. Which means as the Iowa caucus looms, she's bound to make an appearance sometime soon.

Or at least a potentially unflattering portrait of her. You can catch a glimpse of actress Julianne Moore portraying the unexpected vice presidential nominee in the newly released trailer promoting HBO's "Game Change,'' the movie about the 2008 campaign. " I think I'll just grit my teeth and bear whatever comes what may with that movie,'' she told Sean Hannity of Fox News.

She took a shot at joining the national conversation the other day when she criticized the First Family's holiday card for featuring their dog, instead of a Christmas tree. The fact that this swipe made little news says a lot about Palin's status these days.

She also makes the briefest of cameos, if you can even call it that, in Rick Santorum's new television spot -- a quiet plea for an endorsement? "Sarah Palin praised Rick for 'protecting the sanctity of life,' '' the ad reminds us.

Count me unsurprised if she doesn't show up in an Iowa cornfield between now and Jan. 3.

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game change

The Republican Race, in a Chart

By Ronald Brownstein

November 15, 2011 | 2:54 PM

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If it's possible to encapsulate the volatility and uncertainty of the 2012 Republican presidential race in a single chart, the one below might fit the bill.

It tracks the results of the 13 national CNN/ORC polls this year measuring the preferences of Republican primary voters. It also separates the results into three categories: the overall leader, the leader among the roughly half of the party that identifies with the tea party, and the leader among the roughly other half that does not.

Larger version

The chart points to several large conclusions. First is how fluid and unsettled the race has been. Five different candidates (including three that did not run, Mike Huckabee, Rudolph Giuliani, and Donald Trump) have held the overall lead in the survey; not since 1964 have so many different candidates led in a GOP presidential race in the year before the voting.

Within the two evenly balanced wings of the party, there's even more fluctuation. In the 13 polls, six different candidates have led among tea party supporters: Huckabee, Giuliani, Mitt Romney, Rick Perry, Herman Cain and most recently Newt Gingrich. Among those who don't identify with the tea party, a similar group of six candidates have held the top spot: Sarah Palin, Gingrich, Trump, Romney, Giuliani, and Perry.

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CNN poll, Mitt Romney, Newt Gingrich, tea party, volatility

Bad Day for Obama? Sure, But Not So Much

By Ron Fournier

November 4, 2011 | 9:55 AM

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Another ugly jobs report. More lousy poll numbers. This must be a depressing day for President Obama and his reelection team.

Well, not if they're taking the long view.

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Cain, Obama, Palin, Perry, polls, unemployment

The Two Republican Races

By Ronald Brownstein

October 27, 2011 | 2:12 PM

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One reason the Republican presidential contest has been so unusually volatile is that it's become two races running along parallel but very distinct tracks. One of those races seems to be settling down, steadily if slowly. The other still appears perched on an earthquake fault. If that dynamic persists, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney will remain the favorite for the nomination- even though a significant proportion of the party remains resistant to choosing him.

The evolution of the GOP contest into two distinct races becomes apparent when looking at the long trend in public opinion polling. In the twelve national CNN/ORC surveys about the race conducted since January four different candidates have held or shared the national lead: ex-Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee and businessman Donald Trump (neither of whom actually entered the race), Romney and Texas Gov. Rick Perry. Other national polls this year have recorded leads for former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin and more recently businessman Herman Cain.

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CNN poll, GOP primary, Herman Cain, Mitt Romney, Rick Perry, tea party

A Mormon-Catholic Ticket Would be Groundbreaking and Typically American

By Matthew Cooper

October 27, 2011 | 1:48 PM

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When Elena Kagan was sworn in as an associate justice of the Supreme Court in 2010, it was an historic event: For the first time in American history, there was no Protestant member of the nation's' highest court.

Could 2012 be a presidential ticket of a major party without a protestant?

Were Mitt Romney to be the Republican presidential nominee and were he to choose a Catholic running mate--say, Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla. or New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie--that would seem to be such an event. Of course, the Obama-Biden ticket was historically WASP-free, an African-American attendee of the United Church of Christ--until the Jeremiah Wright controversy church--and a Roman Catholic.

The religions of our presidential nominees say a lot about our diversity and increasing tolerance, famously so with Catholics. When Al Smith was the Democratic nominee for President in 1928, it was shocking and another Catholic wouldn't be on the ticket until 1960. Then Catholics began popping up as veeps: William E. Miller on the Republican ticket in 1964; on the Democratic side, Ed Muskie in 1968, Sargent Shriver in 1972 and Geraldine Ferraro in 1984. John Kerry was the last Catholic to top a presidential ticket. No one made a fuss and the Kerry campaign found the number of Americans who were even aware of his Catholic faith and for whom it mattered to be inconsequential.

But the religious fludity of our candidates and their families say a lot, too. Ann Romney joined the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. George W. Bush was raised an Episcopalian but became a Methodist while his brother Jeb the Florida governor, became a Catholic. Spiro Agnew was Greek Orthodox turned Episcopalian. Sarah Palin was baptized a Catholic but her family attended non denominational churches and she joined a Pentacostal congregation

A quarter of Americans have switched their faith, according to a study by the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life and within Protestant affiliations that number rises to 44 percent.

In 2003, Romney was sworn in as governor of Massachusetts using the same traditional Bible that his father had used for his swearing in as governor of Michigan in 1962. Were he to win in 2012 and choose the Book of Mormon for his 2013 swearing in, he'd be part of an American tradition

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