Sarah Palin: Why It Does Not Work Anymore

Ever since Tucson, the Sarah Palin juggernaut has seemingly stalled. And the New Hampshire political poll does not seem to give much hope either. The midterm elections already are a distant memory and to draw a political benefit from them now is a difficult task. Let’s look at some facts:

1) She failed to react in any way until 36 hours after the Tucson drama; this missed opportunity was criticized by Americans (46 percent disapproved), and what’s more, she even made the suggestion that criticism of the right wing amounted to blood libel — the accusation that religious minorities murder children to use their blood in certain aspects of their religious rituals. Tucson could be Palin’s breaking point because at the same time, Obama hit the target and gained some extra ground. Among Americans polled, 80 percent approved of his speech and of his behavior at Tucson. Among Republicans, 71 percent approved of his leadership during this drama.

2) Before Tucson, Palin did not know how to — nor even that she could — take advantage of the support she offered to candidates following the November midterms. She has failed to pick up valuable points, whereas images of high-profile candidates, such as California’s defeated Carly Fiorina, are etched in our memories. For the Republicans who have been elected, the tea party banner stands as a battle flag. Marco Rubio, the new senator from Florida, is claimed exclusively by the tea party, and Palin in the past said, “I love Marco Rubio.” And as for reelected John McCain, endorsed by Palin, he finds himself in hot water for his Arizona senate seat; however, it would be an understatement to say he has not been scoring well as of late. He also said, once elected, that he would not support her in 2012 — thank you, sir — meaning a low return on investment for Sarah Palin.

3) Palin has entered herself into a game of political time management. She thought she had captivated America with the announcement of her presidential candidacy in 2012, becoming a wild card; however, subsequently, we no longer speak of her. Especially as time goes by, the negative figures are more prevalent — for instance, those of the New Hampshire “straw poll,” an unlabeled survey which identifies the best candidate within the party. This Saturday, the poll shows Palin in a meager fourth position (7 percent), trailing a triumphant Mitt Romney, who led the poll with 36 percent, followed by Ron Paul (10 percent) and Jim Pawlenty (8 percent). The new head of the New Hampshire GOP, elected on Saturday, is a tea party-ist, pure and simple. Where is Palin while all this is happening? Fourth, with 7 percent.

4) Her difficulty, or her inability, to form a credible campaign team is a real handicap. And we trust that the bosses of the GOP will not get involved in the hiring process.

5) Finally, her communication — be it by video, email or Twitter — leaves a lot to be desired. It does not seem to work in her favor, as the gap between the importance of the event she covers (e.g., Tucson) and the casualness of the media she uses borders on indecency.

She is doomed to receive negative media coverage, something that she is already familiar with, but now perceptions are becoming more and more difficult to control. For example:

– The TV series, “Sarah Palin’s Alaska,” which boasted more than 3 million viewers, has created some negative media coverage for Palin. However, there is good news for Palin: The Discovery Channel has announced that it will not resume the show on TLC.

– The “Dancing with the Stars” competition, featuring her daughter, Bristol Palin, has been dogged with allegations of possible rigging and often lucky progression from week to week. It recently saw Bristol reaching the finals. During autumn 2010, there had been disturbances and personal attacks against her mother, who was very instrumental in the whole operation.

– Finally, Palin’s second and latest book, “America by Heart,” was published this summer but did not succeed in climbing the bestsellers list, as it failed to become a hit.

The Palin machine, which is falling apart before her very eyes, seems like it cannot be mended, especially in a world of media communication where any mistake is fatal. The almost inevitable collapse is the result of trust-based communication. Since Palin chooses not to conduct press interaction live, her campaign momentum has begun to fade. Now it seems all the GOP might have to do is wait.