COMMENTARY | Sarah Palin told CNN she would announce whether or not she would run for president by the end of September, which means her time is running short. And although many joke that the former governor of Alaska has been running for president since she was nominated as Sen. John McCain’s running mate in 2008, she has done little to indicate she will actually get into the 2012 political fray.
Besides massive political speculation, she has almost nothing in the way of campaign infrastructure in any early caucus and primary state. And even though polls indicate the Republican electorate does not support her candidacy, there is a powerful contingent that seems to be begging for her to commit to a run for president — the media.
The current crop of 2012 Republican candidates is boring. It provides the usual GOP fare, the talking points, the occasional gaffe and controversial statement. But they do not galvanize and polarize like Palin (although Rep. Michele Bachmann has tried her best and Gov. Rick Perry could soon become at least as controversial). And although they make headlines, they do not dominate them like the Mama Grizzly.
Palin has her core group of diehard supporters. She is also touted and backed by many in the powerful tea party movement. She also has many supporters in the moderate Republican camp. But there is no single environment where the former Alaska governor is more popular than the American media.
Love her or hate her, the mention of her name gathers and galvanizes. She is like a monster magnet, both attractive and repellent, depending on which political end from which she is approached. But whether attracted or repelled by her, she is a force to be reckoned with. And she gets noticed.
Despite Palin’s professed disdain for the media, she never strays far from it, continually reimmersing herself into the mainstream media by way of comment, interview, or public appearance. In fact, she uses its general negativity toward her as a springboard with which to rail, pontificate, endorse and condemn, not to mention raise funds for her political action committee, Sarah PAC.
But the media loves her. And why not? It created her. Reporters invaded Alaska by the hundreds to get original stories on the little-known governor. Her folksiness and general cheer endeared her to many, while at the same time it came off as fake and a mask for political ignorance to her detractors. And when she refused to back away from proven falsehoods (such as the “bridge to nowhere”) and scandals (like her teenaged daughter’s pregnancy and associating then Sen. Barack Obama with terrorists), she won over many by sticking to her views. She also alienated quite a few for the same reasons.
And reporters reported, providing the electromagnetic current that made Palin’s identity more and more charged and attractive. With each additional statement, Twitter post and sound bite, the 40-something former beauty pageant contestant was either in the news or making the news.
They want her in the 2012 race, even those who disagree with her politically, because the media derives as much or more from Palin as she does from it. There exists an odd symbiosis, each feeding off the other. It is why there are thousands of stories over the maybe-maybe not, will-she-or-won’t-she ambiguity of her statements.
Regardless if one is a fan, a political supporter, or a detester of the gun-toting hockey mom, she is a magnetic force and a generator of news stories. She is a ratings winner. And with the media, it is always about the traffic, viewership, ratings, and market share, no matter if the subject is reviled or glorified.
Palin would be good for sound bites, gaffes, exaggerations, convoluted and incoherent statements, controversy, fashion reports, comparisons, histories, documentaries, family stories, satire, spoofs, comedy and much more. She has maintained that kind of generator status since 2008. Besides, who among the Republicans would Tina Fey be able to mock so effectively if Palin stays out of the 2012 presidential race?
Regardless if Sarah Palin has already made her decision, whether through polls that say she shouldn’t or her personal god that says she should, there is one entity that is standing beside the presidential running track begging, “Run, Sarah, please run, please, oh, pretty please”: the mainstream media.