Rove says Palin lacks ‘gravitas’ to be president

[LuciferSanchez]

Rove says Palin lacks ‘gravitas’ to be president
By Holly Bailey
Thu Oct 28

Karl Rove doesn't think Sarah Palin has what it takes to be the nation's next commander in chief.

In an interview with London's Daily Telegraph, the GOP strategist and former top adviser to George W. Bush says Palin lacks the "gravitas" to be president. Rove cited in particular Palin's upcoming foray into reality TV, implying it's not becoming of someone who wants to be in the White House.

"There are high standards that the American people have" for the presidency, Rove told the Telegraph. "They require a certain level of gravitas. … They want to look at the candidate and say, 'That candidate is doing things that [give] me confidence that they are up to the most demanding job in the world.'"

The ex-governor's reality show, "Sarah Palin's Alaska," doesn't fit that bill, Rove said. "With all due candor, appearing on your own reality show on the Discovery Channel -- I am not certain how that fits in the American calculus of 'That helps me see you in the Oval Office,'" Rove said. The strategist said the show's trailer—in which Palin says she'd rather be in Alaska than in "some stuffy old political office"—is particularly damaging and could haunt a potential 2012 campaign.

Rove said Palin had done a "terrific job" as John McCain's running mate in 2008, but added that the star turn didn't boost her credentials for the top job. "Being the vice presidential nominee on the ticket is different from saying, 'I want to be the person at the top of the ticket,'" Rove said.

Rove's comments come as Palin tells Mary Hart in an "Entertainment Tonight" interview set to air Thursday that she'll run for president "if there's nobody else to do it."

"For me, Mary, it's going to entail a discussion with my family -- a real close look at the lay of the land -- and to consider whether there are those with that common-sense, conservative, pro-Constitution passion. Whether there are already candidates out there who can do the job -- and I'll get to be their biggest supporter and their biggest helpmate, if they will have me -- or whether there's nobody willing to do it, to make the tough choices and not care what the critics are going to say about you, just going forward according to what I believe the priorities should be," Palin told Hart.

"If there's nobody else to do it, then of course I would believe that we should do this."

While Palin is no doubt in demand as a GOP surrogate in 2010, there are increasing questions about whether she's helping or hurting the candidates she's endorsed. Look no further than Alaska, where Palin is scheduled to appear at a rally today on behalf of tea party favorite Joe Miller, who appears to be losing ground in his bid to unseat Sen. Lisa Murkowski.

Miller, widely considered Palin's political protégé, has come under fire for attempting to conceal a 2008 ethics breach in which he was suspended for using state computers to sabotage a political rival. Now, as the Daily Beast's Shushannah Walshe reports, there are questions about whether his connection to Palin is hurting him, too.

"The anti-Palin side may be motivated" by her appearance at the Miller rally, GOP pollster Dave Dittman, who has worked with both Miller and Murkowski, tells Walshe. "She's such a polarizing figure in Alaska," Dittman says. "It wouldn't have been my advice to do it."

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