CLOUT...

[Cliffenstein]

Palin Emerges with Even More Clout
Complete Coverage Campaign 2010 / CBS News / November 3, 2010

Large Majority of Candidates She Backed Won; Do Results Make Her More Likely to Seek GOP Presidential Nod in 2012?

Most of the candidates Sarah Palin endorsed chalked up victories Tuesday.

And that scorecard leaves pundits wondering whether she'll now train her sights directly on the Republican presidential nomination in 2012.

As CBS News Correspondent Jeff Glor reports, the former GOP vice presidential nominee backed 43 candidates for the House. Thirty of them won, with races involving nine others still undecided.

Her record in Senate races was closer: She endorsed 12 candidates. Seven won.

Though it's been 15 months since Palin stepped down as Alaska governor, she was very much in this election, stumping for candidates across the country, skewering President Obama at every turn.

"My observation of Sarah Palin," says CBS News political analyst Nicolle Wallace, "is that she is one of the shrewdest political figures in our country at this moment. She's also one of the most electric."

Of all the races Palin got involved with, perhaps the most personal was in her home state of Alaska. Her backing of Tea Party favorite Joe Miller propelled him to the ballot in a primary for Senate and past incumbent Republican Lisa Murkowski, whose father Palin beat to become governor.

Murkowski ran as a write-in candidate. The outcome of that highly unusual race could take days to determine.

"When the results come in," says Politico National Political Editor Charles Mahtesian, "I think people will look at that and see that as a reflection of her clout, because she played such an enormous role in defining the terms of that race."

Among the winners Palin endorsed: Nikki Haley for governor of South Carolina, Pat Toomey for Senate in Pennsylvania, and John Boozman for Senate, in Arkansas.

All year, Palin and re-elected Sen. Jim DeMint of South Carolina were kingmakers in the Tea Party court, supporting winning candidates such as Rand Paul for Senate in Kentucky.

There were some losses, too. In Delaware, Tea Partier Christine O'Donnell was forced to spend part of her campaign convincing voters she wasn't a witch.

But overall, Glor observes, Palin seemed very pleased, punctuating a big night by tweeting, "As always, proud to be American! Thanks, Common sense constitutional conservatives, you didn't sit down and shut up...you repudiated extreme left."

Asked on "Entertainment Tonight" last week whether she'd run for president, Palin said she would, if there's nobody else to do it.

And on "The Early Show" Wednesday, DeMint was asked if he could see a Palin-DeMint or DeMint-Palin ticket in 2012.

"I agree with her," DeMint responded. "I would only consider if no one else was willing to do it at this point. Sarah Palin's done a lot of good for the country. She's gone out front and taken a lot of the slings and arrows from the critics. When women or minorities get involved in politics as conservatives, they take a lot of hits from the press. And she's done a lot of good for the Republican Party, and for our country."

[lerxstcat]

Hey, if Errol Flynn and Bonzo the Chimp's sidekick Ronald Reagan could become the idol of the Republican Party, nothing would surprise me. She's not as dumb as Democrats like to think she is, though she's no brain trust either. She seems to have really good survival skills though.

[Pill]

Large Majority of Candidates She Backed Won;

This means dick. She backed Republicans in a time when the President (a Democrat) and the Speaker of the House (also a Democrat) are hugely unpopular.

Do Results Make Her More Likely to Seek GOP Presidential Nod in 2012?

She can seek it. Doesn't mean she'll get it.

[Cliffenstein]

Has anyone noticed how much more confident she is during her television appearances now as compared to the time during and just after the '08 elections?

It's a night and day difference.

[Luminiferous]

Large Majority of Candidates She Backed Won;

This means dick. She backed Republicans in a time when the President (a Democrat) and the Speaker of the House (also a Democrat) are hugely unpopular.

Exactly... I picked the Republitards to win big, guess that makes me qualified to run for president..

Has anyone noticed how much more confident she is during her television appearances now as compared to the time during and just after the '08 elections?

It's a night and day difference.

Credit all that Faux News airtime and coaching from more intelligent political analysts..

[Pill]

I predicted the Giants winning the Series. This obviously qualifies me to be a third baseman.

[Luminiferous]

True man.

I predicted the Saints winning last years Superbowl.. Where's my ring???

[tin00can]

Has anyone noticed how much more confident she is during her television appearances now as compared to the time during and just after the '08 elections?

It's a night and day difference.

It's because nobody is asking her hard questions. It's easy to be confident when you set the agenda.

[Tenacious_Dio]

If her boy can't win Alaska, it proves she has no clout whatsoever.

[SkyDog112046]

I saw a stat that showed that 21 out of 41 candidates Palin backed got into office. That's barely over half, and the majority of those would have gotten in without her.

Most people still think she is a joke and there is no way the Republican party could be so stupid as to let her get on their ticket next time around as she cost McCain the last election.

She could take all the public speaking courses in the world and it still won't change the fact that she is too inexperienced for the white house. It comes down to the fact that she is a half term governor who couldn't handle running a small (populous) state.

[MasterOfMeatPuppets]

The same people who think Palin could win wonder why Dan Quayle, Howard Dean, and Al Gore don't run.

[Skate4RnR]

She'll make a great leader. Just like Margaret Thatcher she is!