The topic of Sarah Palin running for president has been exhaustively pondered both negatively and positively by political pundits and analysts. The former governor of Alaska has said she would provide a definitive statement either in August or September. But former George W. Bush White House adviser Karl Rove said Sunday she would most likely declare on Sept. 3 at a tea party function in Iowa. He said the teasing had gone on long enough.
On Fox News Channel’s “Fox News Sunday,” Rove told Brett Baier, “I’m not much of a gambler, but I’d put a little more money that she gets in than if she doesn’t. … You can only tease so many times in the political process, and I think she is getting to the end of that.”
Palin, who has talked on and off about running for president since her failed 2008 vice presidential run (alongside Sen. John McCain) has coyly kept the possibility of a presidential run in the public realm with maybe-maybe not statements and comments that have intensified in the past year.
Her actions, such as releasing campaign-like ads and engaging in a bus tour (campaign-ready with the name “One Nation Bus Tour”), have helped fuel the fires of speculation. Of course, the popular speaker and Fox News contributor often is bombarded with the question of a possible run for office, which also leads to speculation, regardless of how Palin phrases her answer (or even if she does not provide one).
Rove said that if Palin did not get into the race at least shortly after the beginning of September, potential voters will most likely assume she won’t be getting in.
Rove cited as an indicator that Palin might run the recent release of a “pre-presidential” campaign-like ad of Palin working the crowd at an appearance at the Iowa State Fair earlier in the month. Most of the Republican candidates had been in attendance, attempting to win voters for the Ames Straw Poll held on Aug. 13. Palin had not been on the ballot and the final results showed even as a write-in, she failed to make the top 10 candidates (by contrast, Texas Gov. Rick Perry received 718 as a write-in; Rep. Michele Bachmann won with more than 4,800 votes).
The former White House deputy chief of staff also noted that Palin’s schedule going into September was “robust,” more like that of a candidate, as opposed to that of a celebrity.
But one conservative, radio talk show host Mark Levin, said he does not believe Palin will announce on Sept. 3 because her movie “The Undefeated” is released to pay-per-View that weekend. Levin accused Rove — and conservative analyst and political consultant Dick Morris, who also has said Palin will announce on the third — of attempting to make Palin seem “incompetent or it is impossible for her to win.” Levin believes Rove and others like him are working for other candidates “behind the scenes,” trying to undermine the candidacies of “non-establishment” Republican candidates like Palin.
The possibility exists that the talk radio show host might be correct. Rove has maintained in public statements in the past that he thought the former Alaska governor was not suitable presidential material. In October, he said that Palin lacked “gravitas” and that the American people would ultimately reject her.
In fact, he candidly told “Fox News Sunday” that “… if she gets in, I’m not going to be for her.”
Still, his dislike of Palin as a presidential candidate does not necessarily mean his assessment of her plans are incorrect or inaccurate. Until then, there will probably be more teasing from Palin and her camp, no matter what — or when — her final decision might be.