Kathleen Said:

Why has Sarah Palin's ratings plummet to an all time low?

We Answered:

It is my estimation and opinion that Sarah Palin’s popularity has been steadily dropping since her emergence at the GOP convention last year. She enjoyed a brief but intense surge in popularity immediately after delivering her speech at that convention but was never able to truly duplicate that moment again. In fact her appearances in the media that followed actually worked against her for a number of reasons.

- Fist of all she seemed incapable of delivering credible spontaneous answers to reporters probing questions, especially in areas of her personal knowledge and her qualifications for the job of Vice President. She really had an uphill battle with the media after a shaky interview with Katie Couric on MSNBC and another with Charles Gibson of ABC. She just seemed more and more inadequate as the campaign went on.

- Second, the “Saturday Night Live” parody of her by Tina Fey forever ingrained in the public eye the impression that she was little more than a glorified pageant queen delivering ditzy answers to serious questions.

- Third, she did much of her campaigning separate from Senator McCain and her performance was somewhat lackluster and uneven making it appear as if she was running a separate campaign that was not always in sync with McCain’s. Her “maverick” position, though supposedly meshing with McCain’s own image, was still a bit more extreme for many GOP moderates.

- Fourth, ethics charges, leading to an investigation, of her behavior as Governor of Alaska, cast another shadow over her candidacy. This led some people to doubt her truthfulness.

- Lastly, I would say that because of her rambling announcement, about her resignation as Governor of Alaska, she left a lot of people, even from the GOP asking questions. One of her comments was that she blamed mainstream media, saying they tried to humiliate her and attacked her family. Thus, one of her former strengths as a candidate (being a Governor) now became a liability and she was labeled by many as a ‘quitter”.

Therefore, looking as if she has now stepped down and out of the political limelight, she has done little with her fading celebrity except to make a few speaking appearances and promote her upcoming book “Going Rogue”. Her book is no doubt an attempt to reinvent herself as a potential future candidate and restore some of her lost luster.

According to one site, her memoir paints an intimate portrait of growing up in the wilds of Alaska, her decision to enter politics; the importance of faith and family and imparting her own personal vision for America. In the book she also describes herself as a “Country First” patriot and a high-profile mom who has been on an extraordinary journey.

Lately, she has not offered to help any other national GOP candidate running for office, neither have they asked her for any support. Many still see her as a political liability because of her strong beliefs and opinions that tend to be more extreme right-wing than moderate. Sarah Palin is just one of the reasons that, many strategists and analysts say, voters were alienated and ultimately cost McCain the election.

Valerie Said:

Steve Schmidt: "Without Palin on the ticket, our margin of defeat would have been greater"?

We Answered:

I don't know, I think the defeat was pretty great as it was!

Heather Said:

Any republicans out there now willing to admit the damage the Bush/Cheney administration did to the party?

We Answered:

Damage? Um, try carnage!

"Deficits don't matter."
--Dick Cheney

"You go to war with the army you have, not the army you want."
--Dumb Rumsfeld