Obviously, Nader is smarter, policy-wise.
But in terms of what they mean to their parties, Sarah Palin is going to be the republicans' Nader. She doesn't seem to care if she's attached to a party. She had a good job as a republican governor and she quit.
She surely has to be aware that she hasn't an Alaskan snowball's chance in Florida to be president. So what the heck? She may as well do what she does best--rattle people. She'll also be making piles of money.
What Nader means for protecting the consumer, Palin will be for "family values." She'll talk about exactly what she wants to talk about, without a party hanging over head. She can be as mavericky as she wants.
She's going to be Sarah Palin. She'll dictate her own party.
She's going to have a small, but vocal band of supporters, enough to give the republicans a headache, but not enough to get her elected to higher office.
Palin's supporters like her because the "elite" don't like her. Her supporters view themselves as righteous.
If Palin wasn't opposed as much as she is, she'd fade away. But this kind of talk amps up Palin supporters and keeps her in play:
"People at the grass roots see a charismatic personality who is popular with other people at the grass roots. But their horizon only goes so far as people who think like them," said Mike Murphy. The veteran GOP ad man eviscerated Palin -- a "political train wreck," "an awful choice" for vice president, her resignation an "astonishing self-immolation" -- in a column published Thursday in the New York Daily News.Here's what else we're going to continue to get--Levi Johnston's thoughts and family feuds:
"Professional operatives keep their eye on a broader horizon and understand, without independents and swing voters, she can't win," Murphy said. "She's a stone-cold loser in a general election." LAT
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