Bill Kristol turns on Sarah Palin: The final straw?

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."

"Really, Sarah Palin would be a ridiculous candidate for president"

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Kristol is wrong about Palin: It's funny that Kristol decided to accuse Palin of staying out of the national debate, says The Right Scoop, just after she delivered a solid policy speech in India. She "has given a ton of speeches over the last two years, some of them to rally the troops for specific candidates and some on policy." Palin is a "very capable woman." "I have no problem voting for Sarah Palin to be my president," nor should anyone interested in putting a "real conservative" in the White House.

"Kristol: Palin shouldn't be our nominee for president"

This is merely confirming what we already know: Kristol seems to think he was right to push Sen. John McCain to pick Palin as his running mate in 2008, says Brian Montopoli at CBS News, but that she's since failed to seize the opportunities that would have made her a viable White House contender. It's hardly surprising that Kristol has "soured on Palin" — polls suggest plenty of Republicans are having second thoughts about her. The "polarizing" Palin once looked like a strong candidate. Now, not so much.

"Onetime booster Bill Kristol sours on Sarah Palin"