Of Reagan, Palin, and “she can’t win”

It’s become something of a hobby –even an article of faith for some– on the Left and part of the Right to declare that former Alaska governor Sarah Palin has no chance to win the Republican nomination. Or, if she does win the nomination, then she has no chance to win the presidency, itself.

At Lowdown Central, my friend Lance Thompson thinks back to 1980, when another polarizing conservative, Ronald Reagan, was the candidate all the wise said “couldn’t win.” Recounting the many difficulties on Reagan’s path to office, he looks at the common wisdom surrounding a possible Palin candidacy and says “wait a minute:”

The point is that at no time was the nomination of Ronald Reagan certain. In fact, a more common theme, even as Reagan won primary after primary, was the impossibility of a Reagan presidency. This view was held by the media, the opposition, and many in his own party.

Sarah Palin faces the same doubts and predictions of failure. Like Reagan, she is plainspoken and unapologetic in her beliefs–American exceptionalism, energy independence, traditional morals and individual freedom. She has also been called too simplistic and too extreme, and in terms much harsher than those applied to Ronald Reagan. But she has not wavered in her principles, and her positions which seemed extreme at first–opposing Obamacare, tapping America’s energy resources, keeping faith with our allies and standing up to our enemies–resonate with an increasing number of Americans.

Ronald Reagan’s election and eight year presidency altered the direction and fate of this country in profound ways no one could have predicted. Sarah Palin has at least the potential to do the same. Those who dismiss or discount her have either forgotten their history, or wish they could.

It’s no secret that I favor Palin for the presidency. That bias admitted, I recommend reading the whole article as a cure for the common assumption.

(Crossposted at Public Secrets)