PrintNovember 16, 2009
Obama and the 'Palin effect'
President Obama's approval ratings have inched up in the last week, from 46-53 in Rasmussen (overall approval- disapproval) to 50-49. It is hard to find a good reason for this, other than a favorable reaction to his Ft. Hood speech. The reaction to Eric Holder's decision to have a civilian trial for Khalid Sheikh Muhammed in New York has not been generally favorable, and the bow to the Emperor in Japan created a small stir, both of which would argue for a continued fall in the approval ratings.
Here is a speculative theory to explain it: Sarah Palin is hogging the news coverage with her new book, book tour, and TV interviews. Palin has a significant core support group, but a majority of voters in the country do not view her favorably. With the focus on Palin, Obama gets a pass.
This is not a criticism of Palin -- she has been hounded by the left and their media sycophants and her relative unpopularity has a lot to do with the image they have created of her. Palin also has big bills to pay for lawyers, and she has every right to cash in on her celebrity if she can. Bill Clinton and Al Gore cashed in big time after they left office. Synagogues were paying Bill Clinton, $250,000 to tell their audiences why he failed at Camp David (Answer: Arafat did not want to end the conflict). Al Gore has made tens of millions of dollars with his global warming shtick combined with getting government money for energy companies with which he is involved.
I think Palin's behavior since the end of the campaign is in large part explained by the cost and time associated with defending herself against the dozen-plus nonsense charges she has had to respond to in Alaska. As Governor, she was limited in her ability to earn enough to pay to defend herself. Hence she resigned.
The left got their scalp (for now), after an all-out campaign to destroy the career of a charismatic conservative woman. Whether Palin makes a political comeback is not at all clear. She has both assets and liabilities for such an effort. But she is great political theatre, and she is now dominating the news. And when she is news, Obama is not. And since the news he has made since he took office, have led to a steady deterioration in his support level, this has been a good week for the President.
