Palin is the Mainstream

Matthew Continetti says that despite her wildly fluctuating poll numbers Sarah Palin is in the mainstream of political thought:

Sarah Palin delivered the keynote address to a breakfast of the pro-life Susan B. Anthony's List this morning. The speech was typical for Palin: attacks on big government and the media, a robust defense of the culture of life using her personal narrative as an example, and support for a "frontier feminism" opposed to the version of women's liberation found in faculty lounges at "East Coast" schools. You can watch the speech here.

As I listened to the speech, I was struck by how Palin's positions are widely shared. She opposes the health care law -- so does the public. She's concerned about the federal deficit -- so is the public (see question 10b). She supports the Arizona illegal immigration law -- so does the public. She supports the right to life -- and the public is moving toward her. She supports the Afghanistan surge and the current course in Iraq -- both Obama administration policies.

Yet Palin continues to have high negative ratings. Why? Not because of her politics. Because independents, and many Republicans, do not believe she is qualified to hold high office. (Democratic support for Palin is a lost cause.) Perhaps some cultural elitism is at work as well. But, on the whole, I'd say the resistance to Palin is based on certain unique traits of hers that concern large numbers of people -- her qualifications, her preparedness, her decision to leave the governorship, and her unwillingness to participate in media ritual sacrifice.

This is why the Democrats' feverish attempts to link Palin to Republican candidates have failed.

I'm not sure she'll ever be a viable national candidate, but certainly she has a role as a conservative speaker able to draw large crowds for GOP candidates, and that may be the best of all worlds for her. She gets the acclaim without the responsibilities of government. I think I'd take that job.