Although she’s not a candidate for the GOP Presidential nomination and by her own account has no plans to pursue the job in 2012 (yet), Sarah Palin still seems to be one focus of the public’s watchful eyes. Whether it’s the part of the Republican base that dreams for a last minute Palin candidacy to spice up the ticket, or the folks on the other end of the spectrum who think she’s still as much of a joke as she was in years past, the point is that people are not forgetting about Sarah Palin.
Part of that is spurred on by Palin’s own actions – her appearances on cable news shows, talk radio, and a recent stint on NBC’s Today Show. And part of it is due to outside factors – like the HBO film Game Change that received rave reviews from one side and pointed derision from the other.
Still the media darling, Palin found herself in a bit of a weekend dustup with FOX News chief Roger Ailes. Last week, at a speaking gig at UNC, Ailes made an interesting comment about Palin, and it drew a lot of attention primarily due to the feeling that it was a bit of friendly fire. First quoted by Gabriel Sherman of New York Magazine on Twitter, Ailes talked about the thought of a Palin presidency:
That comments obviously turned a few heads, considering that Ailes has been reported to have said some disparaging things about Palin in the past. Ailes quickly clarified:
When I hired most of the Republican contributors, none of them had any immediate prospects of becoming President —I wasn’t referring to any of their long-term prospects, including Governor Palin. I hired all of them because they made for good television at the time. Sarah Palin is young and nobody can predict the future
Palin has responded to Ailes comment. In an interview with breitbart.com, Palin basically said that Ailes should realize that she succeeds in doing things that people tell her she can’t do. She also suggests that someone send him a copy of the 2011 film about her rise to fame:
Maybe you guys should send him a copy of Steve Bannon’s “The Undefeated.” The theme of Steve’s film isn’t about me, but about the idea of not letting others dictate one’s path in life and never giving up when you’re fighting for something precious like our exceptional nation and our children’s futures. So, would you send a copy of “The Undefeated” to him?
Do you think that there’s any way that Palin makes some sort of imprint on the 2012 campaign? Let us know what you think in the comments.