Sarah Palin: Not Running For President

The phrase "thank fuck" prings to mind. Now she can get back to doing what she does best - pontificating about politics, rather than actually engaging with it. Or whatever it is the slack-jawed lackwit.

Now, just for Perry. And Bachmann. And... so on.

A Palin Candidacy?

I’m pretty sure that I haven’t missed an announcement, so I guess that Sarah Palin has yet to declare her candidacy for the Republican nomination for President. This makes me wonder whether she is actually going to do so.

In a sense, it might be wiser for her not to declare and sit this one out. The field for the nomination is crowded, and there are already two slightly loopy candidates in that field – one of who looks and sounds a lot like Palin but with the added advantage that she didn’t fuck off half way through a term as an elected representative. To some extent Palin has been out-manoeuvred by Bachmann. Furthermore, if Palin runs and fails to even get the nomination, then her brand of simplistic redneck nonsense will be damaged. She won’t such a hot ticket if her record reads “National Elections Fought: 2. Won: 0”.

Then there’s the fact that Obama, while weakened, still looks like the most likely victor from next year’s general election. He has the massive advantage of incumbency and the fact that, while he’s been a disappointment to many, he hasn’t been an absolute catastrophe and his policies are only truly execrable to those who wouldn’t vote for him under any circumstances anyway. Palin is unlikely to win the nomination; she’s also unlikely to win the White House even if nominated.

There’s a sense in which it would be better for Palin to wait for 2016, when there’ll be much more of a level playing field. But then she risks the fate of Hillary Clinton in 2008 – of being a presumptive nominee for so long that the idea of her candidacy becomes boring, and the space is therefore created for a more charismatic stalking horse to come along and steal the nomination and, maybe, even the White House.

So in a sense Palin is damned if she does and damned if she doesn’t. So I reckon she should go with the latter option. Continue the Sarah Palin show across America. Then again, I’m biased as I think that the idea of President Palin is utterly terrifying and should be avoided at all costs…

My Preference for the 2012 US election

Over the past couple of weeks, both in the comments section here and in my inbox, I've had people either expressing incredulity that I am not supporting one candidate or the other in the upcoming presidential election or asking me who I do actually support. So let me go on record and say this: I support no-one.

Two reasons - firstly, the choice before America is particularly unedifying this time around. Obama will almost certainly represent the Democrats despite being an increasingly compromised and uninspiring president. On the Republican side it is either charisma bypasses like Mitt Romney or total loons like Bachmann and Perry. The best they've got is Ron Paul, but he just seems to be a desperate choice that some libertarian's latch on to and as far as I am concerned, he offers little in the way of charisma or ability to actually win the nomination or the presidency. As far as I am concerned he's the least worst of a bad bunch; therefore, if he gets anywhere, he will therefore represent the least worst option - but I'd be very surprised if that actually happened.

The second reason is implicit in what I've written above - this is the choice before America. I'm not American; I'm not eligible to vote either in the primaries or in the general election. Therefore, unlike when this country goes to the polls, I don't feel duty bound to compromise myself and go with a candidate I'm not entirely convinced by. I'm happy to offer commentary on what will be a looonnng campaign for the control of the White House, but that's about it. Those looking for support from someone with precious little influence and no vote in the upcoming elections would do best to look elsewhere.

Rest assured, it isn't just Rick Perry with illiberal ideas vying for the Republican nomination, as this video shows:



Try to ignore the irritating presenter and marvel at yet another contender utterly unsuited to the office they are trying to attain.

The Pitiful Republican Candidates

I find it difficult to argue with this:

Shortly after the debate, Esquire quoted John Weaver, the longtime McCain strategist, scorning the GOP field as "the weakest since 1940." The New Hampshire debate provided plenty of evidence for his conclusion that the Republican Party "is nowhere near being a national governing party."

The truth is that no-one currently in the fray for the Republican nomination next year - including the ever ignorant Sarah Palin, whose constant flirtation with the concept of running for President has now become so tiresome that she is being eclipsed by her own clone -looks remotely credible as a candidate who might just be capable of taking the White House from Barack Obama. And the end result at this rate will be that Obama, like Bush Junior and Clinton before him, will be re-elected not because he is any good, but because his opponents are godawful no-hopers.