Palin’s power, popularity stronger

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.

On Thursday, Mrs. Palin, pushing a baby jogger, hit the road to run in a Thanksgiving 5K race in Washington state, where she was spending the holidays with relatives. She attracted keen interest from joggers and locals in Kennewick, Wash., who took pictures or craned for a look at the fit running enthusiast.

One Palin fan, Gary Waddoups, called seeing Mrs. Palin “exciting” as he got off a snapshot while she hugged spectators and signed autographs along the race route.

“There’s just something about her, the way that she can articulate exactly the way we feel about the country,” he said to Washington’s Tri-City Herald of her appeal.

Andrew Koneschusky, a vice president in the public affairs practice of D.C.-based Levick Strategic Communications, said that if the White House is her goal, Mrs. Palin should use her moment in the spotlight not to blame her detractors but to fortify her weaknesses, which he says include a perceived lack of substance - criticism that followed her while on the campaign trail as Republican nominee Sen. John McCain’s vice-presidential running mate.

“Instead of taking that off the table by delving into more substantive realms, she’s lashing out at critics and she’s attacking left and right and pretty much confirming and solidifying the image that a lot of people already have of her,” said Mr. Koneschusky, a former legislative aide on Capitol Hill.

“It’s hard to imagine a president who has gotten to the White House by attacking or being critical. You need to articulate a positive message, and it does help to show some substantive chops,” he added, noting that plenty of questions remain as to Mrs. Palin’s ultimate ambitions.

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