Sarah Palin’s new, but old, job
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In a move that's only surprising for how long it took, its been announced that former Vice President nominee Sarah Palin will be a contributor to Fox News. What's interesting is her role will be on the network, that she'll be acontributer and not someone with a regular show. Like her Facebook page, she gains a large distribution platform, while having to answer to no one or at most very few people, which she'll then use to secure an even larger media platform (Sarah Palin? There's an App for that).
Will she run for President in 2012? Highly doubtful, in my opinion, as it opens her up to something she hates, not being in control and being challenged. The position she's in now grants her an enormous amount of power and say in choosing not only who Republican candidates will be, but also the actual Republican platform and talking points to some extent, while still not having to answer to anyone and appear in any interview she doesn't want to appear in.
However, if she does decide to run, as a Fox News contributor (you seriously don't think she'll give up the gig if she's running, right?) she would have her own 24/7 media outlet at virtually zero financial cost to herself. Either way, going forward, she has options and all of them promise to benefit her enormously.
Will she run for President in 2012? Highly doubtful, in my opinion, as it opens her up to something she hates, not being in control and being challenged. The position she's in now grants her an enormous amount of power and say in choosing not only who Republican candidates will be, but also the actual Republican platform and talking points to some extent, while still not having to answer to anyone and appear in any interview she doesn't want to appear in.
However, if she does decide to run, as a Fox News contributor (you seriously don't think she'll give up the gig if she's running, right?) she would have her own 24/7 media outlet at virtually zero financial cost to herself. Either way, going forward, she has options and all of them promise to benefit her enormously.
Posted by brandonb at 7:36 AM on January 12th 2010
That said, being in Fox News and loved by its viewers, I'm guessing that will create a bubble of adulation, insulating her from any opposition. Once that happens, a 2012 run seems likely, since she either wouldn't know the strength of opposition to her, or if she does, that it would simply feed the right's persecution complex. Being on Fox News wouldn't increase her base of support outside of the viewership, depending on how much recycling the other networks do ("here's what Sarah Palin had to say...")
If she doesn't run, however, she would certainly become the GOP kingmaker.
It's a smart entertainment decision, but is it smart politics? A lot of Republican voters are turned off by Palin. Personally, I know Republicans that believe all sorts of Republican tripe, and yet they are really turned off by her.