George Will Knows Snobbery....

For that matter, George Will exudes snobbery. But does he know "loathing"? I mean, it's fun to jump on the contrived story line, "Everybody Hates Sarah", but isn't the reality quite different? Perhaps a small number of people loathe Sarah, but the vast majority of her critics have no appreciable emotional investment. Meanwhile, what does George Will hope to accomplish by spotlight on her... in an effort to prove that she's a non-entity? Attack of the 50 foot eyesores, redux.

She is not going to be president and will not be the Republican nominee unless the party wants to lose at least 44 states.

Conservatives, who rightly respect markets as generally reliable gauges of consumer preferences, should notice that the political market is speaking clearly: The more attention Palin receives, the fewer Americans consider her presidential timber. The latest Post-ABC News poll shows that 71 percent of Americans - including 52 percent of Republicans - think she is not qualified to be president.

Fair enough. But if we're going by that poll, 37% of Republicans hold a "strongly favorable" view of Palin, while 45% of conservatives and 29% of independents believe she's qualified to be President. Despite the effort of George Will's peers to breathe life into her presidential hopes, I agree with Will - she's not going to be the Republican nominee or, if that somehow happens, the result will be catastrophic for the party. But who says she wants to be the Republican nominee. Perhaps will didn't notice that she blew off CPAC 2010, widely considered to be a "must attend" event for Republican Presidential contenders, in favor of a paid gig at the Tea Party Convention. If you assume she's in it for more than the money, step back and consider what her goals may be.

Leading a political movement, flying around the nation on private jets to campaign events, speaking to adoring fans during the day and sleeping in luxury hotels at night, surrounded by suck-ups and sycophants. Depending upon your personality, that could be heaven, hell, or somewhere in-between. But I'm thinking that for Sarah Palin it's heaven.

I agree with Will that Palin's brand of populism isn't going to land her in the White House, save perhaps on a visitor's pass, but....

In 1992, Ross Perot, an only-in-America phenomenon -- a billionaire populist -- won 19 percent of the popular vote. But because of the winner-take-all allocation of electoral votes, he won none of those.

I forget, George, who won that election again? The Republican? Oh, right....

Seriously, if all she does is tread water in the polls, Palin has incredible power as a spoiler in the next Presidential campaign - extorting concessions from the party in return for not running, or sucking away enough votes to ensure President Obama's second landslide victory. And if you look at her actions, her speeches, her advisors... she knows it. And sorry, George, your inability to turn your eyes away from her is evidence not of her weakness, but of her power.