Palin's power trip

Andrea Billups:

While her political future may be up in the air, Sarah Palin's populist star wattage remains undeniable as she basks in an undimmed political limelight for a core of supporters bored by what they describe as a lackluster Republican Party leadership and angry at the Obama administration's expansion of government and imposition of power.

A little more than a week after she launched her "Going Rogue" book tour, drawing thousands in rock-star fashion at stops across the country, the former Alaska governor has become a standard-bearer for a constituency seeking an unfettered voice on the direction of the nation.

Evidence of her fascination: Her book -- part autobiography, part philosophy, part payback -- sold 700,000 copies in its first week, with HarperCollins, her publisher, increasing an initial printing of 1.5 million copies to 2.5 million, according to Associated Press.

Some have suggested her as a replacement for Oprah Winfrey, who will retire as talk-show host in 2011, even as others think it's a foregone conclusion that Mrs. Palin's book tour is a publicity-fueled prelude to an almost certain 2012 White House run.

"Personally, I'm not sure she's ready to be president, but this is a person who has resonant voice for many Americans who are engaged in our political life and who deserve to have someone speaking for them," said Wilfred McClay, a professor at Pepperdine University's School of Public Policy.

"Anyone who tries to shut that down, particularly by a relentless campaign of personal abuse, is really an enemy of our political system," he said. "They are trying to suppress discourse at a time when we need more of it and not less."

A new Washington Post poll released Monday found Mrs. Palin outpacing party rivals for the affection of core Republican voters. At 18 percent, she was the single highest vote-getter among the party faithful as the "person who best reflects the core values of the Republican Party." She had three times the number of votes received by key rivals such as former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee and former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney.

Democrats, including the Obama camp, are not underestimating Mrs. Palin's popularity and potential.

Just as she hit the airways and took her bus to Middle America's roadways for her book tour, Democratic fundraisers took to the Internet soliciting $5 donations to fight against her "lies." Acting through the national Organizing for America campaign, sponsored by the Democratic National Committee, they dubbed the self-described hockey mom as "dangerous" even as some left-leaning pundits diminished her as a chattering darling of the right.

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"People forget one of the things that has made her such a star figure in the minds of people who support her is the way she came through with that speech at the Republican convention when she had been disparaged within an inch of her life," Pepperdine's Mr. McClay said. "Obama has never had to do anything that showed that amount of grit or sheer fallback on raw character to get you through."

Trying to snuff her out of the current debate, he said, denies that she is speaking out on real public concerns, even as her popularity - and favorability ratings in recent polls - continue to rise.

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One of the problems the Democrats have is an ignorance of the world "lie." When they are soliciting donations based on Sarah Palin's "lies," that in itself is a real lie. Palin may make some mistakes and misattribute a quote here and there, but to call those mistakes a lie is absurd.

She has broad appeal with conservatives because she supports positions conservatives feel are best for the country. When Democrats denigrate her because of that they are really denigrating all conservatives. I don't know if she will run for President, but I think she would make the right decisions if she did.