Alaska
The launching pad for Palin's political career may have proved its undoing as well. Her abrupt exit from the governor's office in 2009 freed her up to make million < s as a speaker, author, and general celebrity, but all but destroyed any hopes of building up a credible resume for a presidential run.
The Establishment GOP
Palin relishes her role as an outsider, going back to her days battling the "old boys' network" of entrenched Republican officials in Alaska. Her willingness to buck party leaders dovetailed nicely with the rise of the insurgent Tea Party, but earned her the enmity of establishment Republican figures like Karl Rove, who has questioned her electability at every turn.
Rick Perry and Michele Bachmann
One reason polls don't show a groundswell of support for a Palin run is that other candidates have already taken over her obvious territory. If you want a hardcore religious right leader running on her personal family values while horrifying establishment Republicans, Michele Bachmann is happy to accommodate your needs. If you're looking for a red-state governor with solid conservative credentials running on anti-elitist resentment, Rick Perry is ready and waiting.
Women
Palin's entrance on the national stage was heralded as an opportunity for the GOP to reach out to female voters, who traditionally lean Democrat in presidential elections. Instead, women have proven a weak spot for Palin. John McCain learned this the hard way in 2008 after his VP pick disproportionately turned off female voters despite a focused effort to pick up disaffected Hillary Clinton voters.
Sarah Palin
Ultimately, Palin has been her own worst enemy. Over and over she's made costly unforced errors that have solidified her critics' worst impressions of her while alienating potential supporters. The most disastrous -- and illustrative -- recent example was her response to the Gabrielle Giffords shooting in Arizona. Under intense scrutiny for her use of violent political imagery, Palin actually began to garner some public sympathy from unexpected corners as it became clear the alleged killer was motivated more by a deranged worldview than any coherent cause. But she instantly squandered it by releasing a tone-deaf video condemning a "blood libel" against her that only appeared more inappropriate after Obama delivered a moving speech focused on the individual shooting victims' biographies later the same day. Palin's popularity plummeted to new lows in the aftermath, but the episode did little more than confirm the already entrenched image of the ex-governor as a thin-skinned, rash, and divisive figure.
I have to say I agree with much of waht Mr. Sarlin points out here. Especially that last part.
However I would also add that it is also very possible that Sarah Palin NEVER seriously considered a run for the Presidency, or at least changed her mind early on after considering the unavoidable embarrassments she would face, and that all of this has just been one long drawn out con game directed at her under educated supporters.
Whatever the reason I think we can rest assured that Palin has no REAL plan to launch a campaign, and if she absolutely believes she has to at least fake one, it will undoubtedly be the shortest campaign in American political history.
