As Sarah Palin sinks in the polls, even one of her earliest fans, Weekly Standard editor and conservative standard bearer William Kristol, appears to be over her. Speaking at Vanderbilt University this week, Kristol said he was disappointed by Palin's decision to quit as governor in 2009, just halfway through her term, and critiqued her failure to "really participate in the national debate." It was a "reasonable gamble" to put Palin on the 2008 GOP ticket, Kristol says, but "she probably shouldn't be the Republican nominee for president" in 2012. Is Kristol's change of heart a key indication that Palin won't be heading for the White House? (See Kristol's comments)
Yes, she's toast: Now even Kristol is "on his way to conceding" that a Palin candidacy would be a disaster for the GOP, says Scott Galupo at U.S. News & World Report. It's safe for everybody to stop pretending she has any chance of winning the nomination, much less the presidency. Kristol says he still believes Palin did well enough in her debate against Joe Biden to prove she's not a ridiculous person. Fair enough. "But I do think Palin would make a ridiculous candidate."
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