One year later, Palin still center of attention
[cnn-photo-caption image= http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/2010/images/07/02/art.palin5.gi.jpg caption="Sarah Palin announced one year ago today that she would resign as Alaska governor."](CNN) - One year after announcing she was stepping down as Alaska governor, Sarah Palin remains firmly in the national spotlight, thanks to television appearances, a national book tour, speaking engagements, Facebook and Twitter.
The 2008 GOP vice presidential nominee also remains a force on the campaign trail, endorsing numerous fellow Republicans in the GOP primaries this year. But the big question remains: Does Sen. John McCain's running mate in the last race for the White House want to make her own bid for the top job in next presidential contest?
On July 3, 2009, the governor, who had 18 months left in her first term in office, announced "that I am not seeking re-election."
Palin went on to say that "I have determined it is best to transfer the authority of governor to Lieutenant Governor Parnell."
She stepped down on Sunday July 26. If anyone thought her resignation would be an end to the national fascination surrounding Palin, they would be mistaken.
Palin's visibility and income have skyrocketed, thanks to her best selling book, "Going Rogue," her contract as a contributor on Fox News Channel, her own TV show on TLC, and speeches that are believed to bring in $100,000 a pop. Her keynote address at the first National Tea Party convention in Nashville Tennessee in February was carried live by the cable news networks. A new book is due out in November, which is expected to be followed by a second national book tour.
Just in the past two weeks, her speaking engagements have taken her from California to Texas, Virginia, Georgia and Nevada, where Wednesday she served as keynote speaker at the International Bowl Expo in Las Vegas.
Palin has also been busy over the past year taking on the Obama White House and Congressional Democrats, getting her messages out on her Facebook page and Twitter.
Palin has remained a force in Republican party politics. She's endorsed a slew of candidates in the Republican primaries who've gone on to win their nomination battles. Among those she's successfully backed on the statewide level include Rand Paul in Kentucky, Nikki Haley in South Carolina, Terry Branstad in Iowa, Susana Martinez in New Mexico and Carly Fiorina in California.
Palin is still very popular among Republican voters, especially conservatives and Tea Party activists. But national polls indicate that her standing among all Americans is not so positive.
An NBC/Wall Street Journal poll conducted two weeks ago indicated that 33 percent of Americans hold a negative view of Palin, with 29 percent saying they see her in a positive light, and 24 percent saying they hold a neutral view of Palin.
While very successful so far in the GOP primaries, according to the survey, 52 percent of all voters said they would respond in a negative manner if they knew Palin endorsed a candidate they were considering voting for in the midterm elections.
As for the big prize, recent national polling does not look favorable to Palin. Only three in ten people questioned in a CNN/Opinion Research Corporation national poll from April thought Palin was qualified to be president, in line with other national polls conducted earlier in the year.
"People who loved her a year ago still love her, maybe even more," says Stuart Rothenberg, publisher and editor of the nonpartisan Rothenberg Political Report. "People who were doubtful about her abilities, skeptical about her skills or opposed to her haven't changed their minds."
Follow Paul Steinhauser on Twitter: @psteinhausercnn
mostly the "media" is obsessed with this fleshy train-wreck.
This is solely because Americans are infatuated with all things Moonbat...just look at Jerry Springer! This idiot could come right from a Springer skit!
Palin would have faded from view long ago had not CNN become her personal PR company. Not a day (well hardly a day) goes by that CNN doesn't have a story on about her, her incredibly dysfunctional family, or the religious zealots with whom she has surrounded herself.
Palin is only the "center of attention" on CNN. I don't hear anybody else anywhere talking about her, except as the punch line to an occasional joke.
Sarah Palin is a money-grubbing barracuda with t*ts. She resigned the governorship of Alaska for the sole reason of being in a position to capitalize on her money-making opportunities. And what is amazing is that people has given her over 12 million dollars, for nothing other than stupid, inaccurate one-liners. But she can see Russia from her back porch, so I guess it is all worth it.
Interesting paradox, a void filling a vacuum.
Oh, how I wish Hugh Hefner would offer Sarah Palin a photo session in Playboy Magazine...(As I always say, a "dirty mind" is a terrible thing to waste...LMAO...{:o)
Do you think maybe part of this is because you guys keep paying attention to her? She deserves no more attention on a news network than does Michael Jackson. Oh – wait – yeah – you overdid that one too....
If she were blond, I'd say she was The Dumb Blond of Politics, but that would be an insult to dumb blonds.
Nobody really cares about this bimbo.
Thanks to the flimsy reporting by the likes of CNN we keep getting up dates on the Alaskan Air Head and the latest trash that spews out of her.
Governor Palin would make a much better President than nobummer. nobummers lack of experience except for community organizer shows not only in our economy but the lack of a coherent foreigh policy. At least Governor Palin has been an executive and a very successful one as the Governor of Alaska. nobummer bows to our enemies and the mayor of Tampa, Florida, while he leaves our allies sitting in a room by themselves while he goes to lunch. nobummer is so out of touch with reality it is scary.
The more she supports canidates the more she causes people to turn the other way......she could not now or in the future hold the Highest Office of the United States......it takes a person of Higher Education to be in that job and she doesn't have it, even if she did people are growing tired of her FOLKIES way of speaking.......she has shown over and over that she is uneducated, illiterate, bigoted, biased, racist and just another lame lying politician.........she should have been watching more closely over there in Alaska....she should have let American know that we had Russian Spys over here, after all she is the one that said she can see Russia from her front porch....she is so full of herself.......
That's because one year later, there is still a lot of morons in the US...
"People who were doubtful about her abilities, skeptical about her skills or opposed to her haven't changed their minds."
_____________________________________________________
...and they still believe that massive government spending will bring the economy back to life. They believe that ObamaCare will reduce medical costs. And they believe that allowing people to remain on unemployment in perpetuity is good governance.
She may quit again as a President....ha – ha- ha- ha
...and in this corner, the intellectual heavy-weight champion of the world...weighing in with her grocery list written on her hand, and her ignorant positions on political views. Three straight losses, no KO's and a pair of binocular's for our Nations Security at the Alaskan shores coming out of the red corner...Sarah "The Quitter" Palin.
Please! Somone put a sock in her mouth.
Only because you guys make it so. She does nothing and says nothing of importance.
"One year later, Palin still center of attention."
Thanks in NO small part to CNN.
Dopey- Strangey
As a card-carrying Libtard, I sincerely hope Sarah Palin is the Republican candidate for President in 2012. And I hope she has as her VP candidate someone with the intellectual depth and curiosity, life experience, loyalty and sheer ruthless ambition of John McCain's running mate. Sharron Angle would be good. Now that would be a dream team. But I'd settle for Michele Bachmann. The election would be a historical (to say nothing of hysterical) landslide.
Ms. Palin continues to be the center of attention because the media keeps foisting her upon us. If she never appeared in another news story, I would not miss her. If she fell off of the media's radar, I bet the number of speaking engagements, photo ops, etc. would disappear. So many other well-spoken, intelligent people exist...let's hear about them for a change.
Drill, Baby Drill....Why, she can see the oil spills from her back porch. Sarah, YOU are the weakest link! Put some more lipstick on.
just a train wreck. Let's clean it up and move on.
We need thoughtful people who have ideas and integrity.
We do NOT need Sarah or the republican trash sitting around and refusing to work.
Yes, she's the gift that keeps on giving, but not for the good of America. If she's the center of attention it's because she's so polarizing and divisive. No one outside her base even likes her. Sarah, please run for president and please pick Michelle Bachman or Rush Limpbum or Sean Hannity or that other idiot with the chalkboard and the idiotic crying he does – what's his name? Oh yeah, Glen Beck, for your running mate. Go Obama and Democrats across the USA!
The teabaggers and republicans use her to spread lies, hate, and fear - then they'll throw her away. Men imagine her nekkid, and women want to look like her. No brain needed.
ha ha ha ha ha ha