For the sake of the GOP, I hope their next generation of leadership is better than this. I mean, her pandering to the base really didn't help them this time around, did it?

I really hope not.

Jude - Palin brought in the hard core conservatives. She did. McCain was supposed to appeal to the moderates. He did not bring in enough.

I'm not saying I like her, but she did her job.

I think she has potential to be the new leadership, but we can't be sure either way just yet.

Either way, I'm glad McCain stood up and defended her. She was never my favorite person, but I hated the way a lot of members of the GOP threw her under the bus and used her as an easy scapegoat.

McCain also mentioned Pawlenty and Jindal. I'll be watching those two very closely!

Ew I hope not. She should go back where she came from and stay there.

Hardcore conservatives don't really need to be "brought in," though. They're not going anywhere; they're not going to change their votes.

Jude - you are right about not changing their vote. But they did vote, which they don't always do. For better or for worse, that was because of Palin.

I think the Republican party is so thirsty for leadership they'll take whatever they can get.

Let's hope not.

Kranky, I would hope that a GOP candidate with more knowledge, expereince, education, and poise would bring in the hard core right than Palin. Eventhough I am more left for sure, I still respect McCain for his expereince, knowledge, and . Palin on the otherhand...not so much.

It's nice that he's trying to cancel out all the awful negativity from his own campaign people, but seriously? good luck to her with that.

If she is the future then I'll never go back to the republican party no matter how many fliers I get in my mail begging me to do so. Independent fo life!

Haven't we been asking and answering this question all week?

CYL - don't get me wrong, I am not trying to defend her or her supporters. In my mind, I relaying facts, but that might be up for discussion.

I wouldn't be suprised that you liked McCain - that was what the Party was hoping for. It just seems like more moderates (to lefters) liked Obama more.

Most of the Palin supporters I know like her because she's an outsider and because she is perceived (perceived, people...) to be a reformer.

Most of the bashers I know say she's stupid and backward.

Seriously stephley.

I think it's too early especially since on some level she was such a polarizing person within the republican party during this past election.

Agreed, steph. So sick of her. One Palin-free day please!

But...did she bring out the vote? My understanding is that Republican turnout was down...

For all of our sake (including hers!) I hope she won't be. She turned into a laughing-stock!

BOOOOOOO!

WHAT DO WE WANT: NO SARAH PALIN

WHEN DO WE WANT IT: NOW

WHAT DO WE WANT: NO SARAH PALIN

WHEN DO WE WANT IT: NOW

WHAT DO WE WANT: NO SARAH PALIN

WHEN DO WE WANT IT: NOW

WHAT DO WE WANT: NO SARAH PALIN

WHEN DO WE WANT IT: NOW

WHAT DO WE WANT: NO SARAH PALIN

WHEN DO WE WANT IT: NOW

Harmony-

Is this directed at Citizensugar or the American public?

All of the above kranky. All of the above.

I was actually kind of excited to see and hear from John McCain after the election, but I wish it had been about other issues. I need to watch the entire interview. I'm interested on what he sees for HIMSELF in the forseeable future.

I was about to say that I didn't want to speak for harmony, but it was probably directed at both!

And the interview was pretty good. He didn't talk much about himself. He made it sound like he is thinking of retiring in the forseeable future, actually. (Even though he didn't come out and say it.)

The story he told at the very end of the interview about a fellow POW was great, too. I know some people got tired of him talking about his time in the Hanoi Hilton, but I felt it was a fitting story for Veteran's Day.

I really hope not.

I have to agree that I am sick of her as well, but I wanted to comment on the issue of John McCain not bringing in the moderates. I am pretty moderate, and it wasn't that John McCain didn't pull me in, but Sarah Palin pushed me away. I was undecided until soon after she was announced. Of course I don't speak for all moderates, but that was my personal feeling on it. If she is the future of the republican party, I may just become a yellow dog democrat.

katrina-

Yeah - clearly, it did not go off as planned in that direction. But many, many Republicans did not like McCain because they felt he was too populist. Thus: Palin.

"For all of our sake (including hers!) I hope she won't be. She turned into a laughing-stock!"

True, true Berlin; thus if she represents the future for the Republican Party, I guess the Democrats won't have any worries about which party will be dominating that future!

"Yeah - clearly, it did not go off as planned in that direction. But many, many Republicans did not like McCain because they felt he was too populist. Thus: Palin."

I was looking to vote for Bob Barr before Palin came around.

I was really impressed when Gov. Crist extended the hours for voting, even though some conservatives said he was handing Florida to the democrats. I am interested in hearing more from him.

I'm glad you brought him up, Jill! I forgot about him for a second. I feel like he, Pawlenty, and Jindal best represent the direction the Republican party needs to take. I would love to see a woman in the mix, but I don't think Palin is the right woman.

i agree about jindal and crist... i don't know much about pawlenty - yet. i think palin was the wrong choice at the wrong time. people really wanted someone to bring the country together - and though she did "rally the base", she was incredibly divisive.

I could not agree more with the "wrong time" portion of your statement, yy! I feel that, if Palin prepared for the national spotlight for an additional few years, she could have actually had a big role in the future of the Republican party. She was completely ill-prepared for the role she was given. I guess we will never know if she could have been different if given more time.

So Agree with Jindal and Crist I don't belong to any political party but I have voted, green party, republican,and democrat in the past, I just like politicians that take their jobs seriously and align with what is going to help this country, and especially my immediate community.

I'm with bastylefilegirl. Although I usually tend to vote Republican, I have voted Democratic and Independent in the past. I try to go with the best candidate instead of the party.

That being said, if Palin is the nominee in 2012, I will not be voting Republican. I still believe she is the straw that broke the RNCs back.

If she is willing to educate herself as much as possible on various issues i don't see why she can't run? Some conservative people love her, she is gutsy also, though she isn't very educated she can perform extremely well in the public. She has charm (though I might not like it but she has it), being a great performer and a woman isn't enough this time, it needs savviness well hopefully she can get filled up on that huh.

She also needs to stop calling people jerks on telly! That is not a good thing for a candidate for a future president.

I'm glad stood up for her and didn't throw her under the bus like so many of his former staff members are.

Only time will tell if she is the new leadership the party needs.

And by the way he has to say it was the right thing by having chosen her! He is protecting the party. Come on guys..this is pure PR

He doesn't "have to say" anything. McCain has long beem known as someone who doesn't follow the conventional rules of politics. And, a lot of other party members are throwing her under the bus, so I don't really see how he's "protecting the party."

You don't think he's been told by a few members to keep it cool with the media? I do. When Gordon Brown and Tony Blair had a huge fight in UK, nobody (except a few nobody in the labour party) admitted it. They were fighting about Iraq and the economy. I suspect he is doing exactly the same thing. He has to make sure the party looks together as much as possible. But that's just my view you're free to disagree.

THe party can't afford to look like it doesn't know what it's doing! Imagine he's saying Palin was a mistake? People would turn around and scream then why the hell did you pick her? Why the hell did you not think about it before? He is protecting himself also.

Well no he doesn't have to say nice things about her. But as big a deal as it was when anonymous sources slammed her, for him, the actual candidate to go against everything he said in the campaign and say anything negative or putting any blame on her would strip him and the party of credibility and would be a big, huge, hairy deal. That would be a pretty mavericky thing to do.

Ugh, no.

Just no.

At this point I really have to be blunt and say I find her type of voter just as extremist, just on the other end of the scale.

I may be a liberal voter as a rule, but I cannot understand why its taking so long for the independent/libertarian bunch to really rally up and get a candidate into a national position strong enough to become the second candidate instead of this ...oh I am feeling catty today so let me call her a "separatist, blindly ambitious, patronizing, biblethumping yahoo".

Seriously. If this is the best they've got then more power to the Independents and Libs, because the GOP is now officially a joke.

Umm... I think Sarah Palin needs to goes back to high school and takes a few history classes first.. among (2000) other things.

I think its a refreshing start for the country to have a female somewhere in office! shes a normal women with normal problems