QUOTE OF THE DAY – AT 8:49 A.M. ET:  From a well-reported and remarkably fair (surprise) portrait of Sarah Palin and her political operation, in TIME:

...Palin thinks Obama is vulnerable, and she implies that she is the one to take him on. "In battleground states, he's polling at 40% or below," she notes. "The country is rejecting his agenda ... My vision of America is diametrically opposed to his. He sees America as the problem. I see America as the solution." Asked what she makes of Obama's presidency thus far, Palin quipped, "Two words: Jimmy Carter." Asked who can beat him, she needed seven more: "Someone who can draw a sharp contrast."

COMMENT:  The Republican establishment is terrified of Sarah, terrified that she could enter the race and win the presidential nomination because of her powerful base, only to lose the general election.  In this case, the establishment has a strong argument.  Sarah's negatives are still staggeringly high, and the mainstream media does not take her seriously.  Her TV series about Alaska is declining in the ratings, and has apparently alienated as many people as it has attracted.

And yet, she is the most fascinating person in American politics.  Her future may well depend less on herself than on the state of the American economy in 2012.  If the economy is recovering, and Obama hasn't entirely surrendered the country overseas, I can't imagine Palin winning the general election.  But if the economy sinks further, and we are further humiliated in foreign policy, a daily occurrence now, she might actually have a shot.  Angry voters will always surprise us.

In the meantime, enjoy the show.  And she certainly knows how to put one on.

December 9, 2010