Bill O'Reilly opened his show by discussing Sarah Palin's possible presidential run and how voters and the GOP establishment feel about her. He highlighted that 59% of Americans have a negative opinion of her and said she's a long, long shot
June 1, 2011

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Bill O'Reilly opened his show by discussing Sarah Palin's possible presidential run and how voters and the GOP establishment feel about her. He highlighted that 59% of Americans have a negative opinion of her and said she's a long, long shot to win, but Conservatives would vote for her anyway and hey guys, she ran Alaska pretty well.

O'Reilly: ...the rap against her is she's not smart enough to be president, but millions of Conservatives like her and believe she is qualified to run the country. As Talking Points has pointed out in the past, the Governor did a pretty good job running Alaska, did she not?

She did not. I'd say at least the person would have to actually serve out their term. She quit her job as Alaskan Governor with about eighteen months left when she was elected in 2006 after Alaska kicked out a crook. She also missed a ton of time on the job while campaigning with John McCain as his VP choice in the 2008 election. That disqualifies her immediately as having a successful tenure as leader of the Alaska. Her reasons for leaving were also quite dubious and not worthy of any serious political leader.

Palin offered few clues about her ambitions but said she arrived at her decision in part to protect her family, which has faced withering criticism and occasional mockery, and to escape ethics probes that have drained her family's finances and hampered her ability to govern. She said leaving office is in the best interest of the state and will allow her to more effectively advocate for issues of importance to her, including energy independence and national security.

"I love my job and I love Alaska, and it hurts to make this choice, but I'm doing what's best for them," Palin said, the sun glinting off a seaplane on Lake Lucille behind her.

If protecting her family from the media is really a concern, running for president then would be totally out of the question.

"As I thought about this announcement that I would not seek reelection, I thought about how much fun other governors have as lame ducks: They maybe travel around their state, travel to other states, maybe take their overseas international trade missions," she said.

She could have stayed on and tried to help her home state after she won the Republican primary because of the many sleazy things Gov. Frank Murkowski did that had incensed all of Alaska:

Popular opinion turned on Murkowski after missteps that constantly thrust him into battle with his political opponents and his own Republican-led Legislature, including: appointing his daughter to his U.S. Senate seat, unpopular budget cuts his first year and a highly publicized fight to buy a state jet. The more Alaskans got to see of Murkowski the less they liked him. Critics have questioned Murkowski's leadership skills, his endless ethical lapses, and his secret pipeline proposal with the three largest oil companies in Alaska behind the backs of state legislators.

Palin wanted to make millions of dollars and avoid the annoyance that comes with serving in a high office. I'd say she was an absolute failure, Bill. This post isn't about Palin, but about the spin machine created to help Conservatives win stardom and elections.

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