With Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels, Wisconsin Rep. Paul Ryan and finally New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie opting out of the Republican presidential primaries, GOP voters may be tempted to let their minds wander once again to the greener pastures on the other side of the proverbial fence. Given their yearning for a dynamic candidate, this is somewhat understandable — but only somewhat. It is time for Republicans to snap out of it, stop pining for a knight on a white horse and choose a nominee from among the candidates already in the race. Doing so was made easier Wednesday when former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin announced a long-awaited decision regarding her plans. Despite the pleadings of many of her most earnest supporters, Palin decided not to seek the GOP nod. While Palin didn’t explicitly rule out the independent effort favored by some in her camp, her statement suggests she will devote her significant energies and talents to electing a Republican president and GOP congressional majorities. This was the right decision, though likely a painful one for Palin to reach.
As he bowed out of next year’s race, Christie said President Obama “has failed the leadership test.” Christie added: “Everything else you can be taught. You can’t be taught how to lead and how to make decisions.” The reality is that by resigning her post as governor of Alaska — citing as her reason an ethics law that she had championed — Palin failed the same leadership test as Obama. It does not matter how deeply unfair the press was toward her during the 2008 presidential cycle, when John McCain chose her as his running mate. By quitting the job she was elected to do, Palin essentially acknowledged her critics’ most essential contention — that she was not ready for higher office. Nothing she has done since then has changed this.
Palin remains understandably popular among legions of conservatives, and passionately loved by a devoted core of supporters. This is why she remains important on the political Right and can continue to serve the movement. But as a candidate, she does not stack up well in the current field. When matched up against Rick Perry, Mitt Romney and others in the recent polls by Quinnipiac, CNN and ABC, she managed only fourth or fifth place and an unimpressive 7 to 9 percent.
As there was little demand for a Palin GOP candidacy, so was there still less for an independent Palin candidacy. For the moment at least, the fates of conservatism and that of the GOP are intertwined. The success of each one is a necessary (but not sufficient) condition for the success of the other. To undermine the Republican Party’s chances of success in 2012 with such a quixotic bid would repudiate everything Palin has done or could do to advance the causes she believes in.
