The hurdles she will need to get past are the people she will need to convince to vote for her. Personally I like her, just as I like Tom. However I realize that in politics perception is everything and that currently the perception of her has taken a hit. I stated earlier in another thread, not in these exact words, that if she can get past this current perception she can be a force to be reckoned with, however her current actions have yet to make a dent in the current perceptions.
Damo, during this campaign, Palin was drawing crowds that rivaled Obama. Her acceptance speech at the RNC was the most widely watched VP acceptance speech of all time. Same with the VP debate. She appeared on SNL and it was the highest rated episode since the show debuted. So, she clearly has a following of people who support her and will eagerly vote for her.
Where her "perception" has taken a hit, is in the liberal-controlled mainstream media, from the left-wing liberal blogoshphere and propaganda machine, and from a certain contingent of Republican beltway loyalists who all fear her. McCain, unfortunately, is a member in good standing, of this beltway crowd, and throughout the course of the campaign, kept her effectively silenced against the onslaught of attacks from her adversaries. She was successfully stigmatized the same way they stigmatized Bush, the difference is, Bush was too verbally incompetent to combat it, and Sarah Palin had her hands tied and was gagged by John McCain.
Now is not the time for Palin to start campaigning for 2012, and it does her no good to attempt to combat this 'perception' issue at this time. She will undoubtedly have opportunities between now and then, to be seen and heard, to formulate a game plan, and to make some inroads with mainstream Americans. But you need to be realistic enough to understand, the left is never going to be giddy over her, they are never going to relent from the attacks, and they will continue to foster this 'perception' you perceive, because they control the media. They are going to keep on dragging up every little tid-bit of gossip and rumor they can gin up, and this will not stop. They are going to be myopic and focus on every detail of minutia to criticize her, ridicule her, and find fault with her, in everything she does. Get used to that!
What conservatives will have to do, is tune this mess out, and not pay attention to "the perception" from the media. We can't allow the liberals and bluebloods to define the party and the candidate anymore. I think that is precisely how we ended up nominating McCain, we wanted to 'appease' the lefties with someone they could find palatable, but look what happened! It was a disaster, we're not going to find a candidate the mainstream media likes, who is a true hard core conservative. Forget it!
I am sick and tired of some (R) in a stiff suit, standing up there with the liberal, promising me the same shit as the liberal, only with a "tax cut!" That is NOT Conservatism, and it's time for us to get back to the basics and stop pandering to the left and 'moderates!' It is time to stop worrying about what the media and talking heads have to say, or what the "perceptions" are, and back the person who speaks from principled conviction, about core conservative philosophies we believe in as conservatives!
