70% A CNN poll reported last month that more than seven in 10 Americans think Palin is not qualified to be president. Republicans were split, with 52 percent saying she’s qualified and 47 percent disagreeing.
Published 23:32, November the 11th, 2009
Hiya, America! Here she comes, Ms. Sarah Palin
Is it a thinly-veiled bid to test the waters for a possible 2012 Republican presidential bid, or simply an effort to make money and cement her celebrity status?
Only time will tell. For now, the opening stops of her tour in Michigan, Indiana, Ohio, Pennsylvania, New York, Virginia, North Carolina, Alabama and Florida, could be valuable if she later decides to run.
Palin remains as controversial as ever, beloved by grassroots conservatives and derided by liberals, a year after bursting onto the national stage with her run at high office with Republican presidential nominee John McCain.
Yet there is no denying her star status in the Republican Party, where she is often mentioned alongside possible Republican candidates in 2012, such as Mitt Romney, Tim Pawlenty and Mike Huckabee.
The book, written with help from ghostwriter Lynn Vincent, has been high on Amazon.com’s best-seller list for weeks, long before the Nov. 17 release of a reported 1.5 million copies. Palin received an advance of at least $1.25 million from publishers Harper Collins.
Gallup: GOP gaining ground
WASHINGTON. For the first time this year, more voters say they would support a Republican candidate for Congress next year instead of a Democrat, according to a Gallup poll.
The survey found that 48 percent of those polled said they would vote for a hypothetical Republican candidate and 44 percent for a Democrat. The poll didn’t ask whether voters would vote for a specific candidate. Instead, they were asked whether they would support the Democratic or Republican candidate in their congressional district
if the election were held now.
The results predict a “likely strong Republican showing” in the November 2010 congressional elections, Gallup said. The Princeton, N.J.-based polling organization said voter turnout will be crucial in determining who will win, particularly in highly contested elections.
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