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People and Politics by Patrick Roberts

Sarah Palin is my Person of the Year for 2010

Posted on Friday, December 24, 2010 at 11:16 PM

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My person of the year 2011 is Sarah Palin.

No one has played the media at their own game and defeated them as handily as the former Governor of Alaska.

She has created an alternative universe, one where she controls her own media through appearances on Fox News and her Discovery special.

What anyone else writes doesn't seem to matter anymore.

By tweeting her latest thoughts or doing a live interview she can completely dominate a news cycle.

How successful is she? Remember 'death panels'?

Her books are best sellers and she continues to attract thousands to her signings

She influenced millions of voters by her endorsements in the mid term elections and helped create the Tea Party and its resounding success.

Along the way she confounded critics time after time.

In the process she has made millions, propelled herself into the race for the Republican nomination for President of the United States and has become a household name across the western world.

Today, every mention of her name raises hackles or cheers depending on where you stand politically. She is never boring, always controversial and the press cannot get enough of her.

She has done all this despite a legislative career that consists of a short period as governor of Alaska and chaotic and failed vice presidential candidate bid to her name.

She has the virtue that everyone continues to underestimate her, believing she has no chance at the Republican nomination in 2012.

I beg to differ as I have said here on numerous occasions.

I think 2011 will be another banner year for Palin at the end of which she will be poised to win Iowa and New Hampshire and sweep the Republican nomination.

Because she is the most unlikely political story in a lifetime I think she deserves Person of the Year for 2010.

And watch this space.

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21 comments

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MAYOLAD | Feb 04, 2011, 03:18 PM EST

A good choice, I think she's a great woman.

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rexnine | Jan 22, 2011, 01:39 AM EST

"No one has played the media at their own game and defeated them as handily as the former Governor of Alaska." This must be Why she was such an asset to the McCain campaign? Are you kidding me, Mr. Roberts??

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RobbCobb | Jan 16, 2011, 03:17 PM EST

Palin's people behind the scenes have gotten it figured out - if you totally saturate the media with this person's personae, through publicity, good and/or bad, when it comes time to vote at the polls, people will probably just regurgitate right back out in the form of a vote. I'd like to regurgitate it out of my body right now, in the form of a bowel movement. She's my choice for idiot of 2010...and 2011...and 2012....

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irelandvacations | Jan 12, 2011, 10:50 AM EST

WEll I hope she gets the nomination. That way Obama will stay in office.

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seanomelbourne | Jan 07, 2011, 06:01 PM EST

Who's Chris Matthews? WE don't get him here in Oz.

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Monsoonman | Jan 07, 2011, 11:31 AM EST

Lad, I am only reporting the facts as they come directly from your news guru chris matthews. If you have a beef with the content, go to him, I am only the messenger.

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seanomelbourne | Jan 06, 2011, 05:51 PM EST

I'm disappointed Mman I thought you were above the tea party rhetoric.Do you believe he was born in Kenya or are you just hoping he was.Palin for GOP nomination I'd vote for that.Roberts has a low standard if Palin is his pick I'd rather pick Helen Thomas.

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Monsoonman | Jan 05, 2011, 07:45 PM EST

Even obamas mouthpiece/sycophant in the media, thrill up the leg, chris matthews is now calling for obama to show us his original birth certificate. What nom de plume does chris matthews use here on irish central? roberts? cahir? o'dowd?

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ciarrai | Jan 05, 2011, 04:25 PM EST

Hey Monsoonman: that ship has long ago sailed. Put your sheet back in the linen closet and you'll feel better. Fox has hypnotized people like you to believe this junk. Why not work on this one instead: why aren't Bush and Cheney behind bars for getting all of our people killed in Iraq by starting the war that didn't need to happen? Only slightly more important than the silly birther crap.

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ciarrai | Jan 05, 2011, 04:19 PM EST

Her 15 minutes is rapidly coming to an end. The clincher will be when she announces that she won't be running for Prez. As soon as the words "I will not run..."come out of her pretty mouth in that unbearably shrill voice, she is history. That's why she is holding off. She wanted to make a few more million and then pull the plug. It seems that certain Republicans are showing a wee bit of nerve and saying she's not ready for primetime. She probably realized a long time ago that she didn't have it yet wanted to cash in more. She is utterly fraudulent and interested only in Sarah. Come on, it's an embarrassment that she has even been taken seriously in the least.

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irishwxman | Jan 02, 2011, 03:23 PM EST

As long as Sarah Palin gets under your skin Patrick, she is A-OK in my book.

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CitizenWhy | Jan 02, 2011, 12:26 PM EST

So success is measured in celebrity and media hype rather than accomplishments or contributions to the common good

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Monsoonman | Dec 28, 2010, 09:57 AM EST

BEFORE it became an issue: "Kenyan-born obama all set for US Senate" Sunday, June 27, 2004 Kenyan-born US Senate hopeful, Barrack Obama, appeared set to take over the Illinois Senate seat after his main rival, Jack Ryan, dropped out of the race on Friday night

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McNamara31 | Dec 27, 2010, 05:10 PM EST

Merry Christmas Monsoonman..You're far to smart to fall for the Fox smoke and mirrors garbage. They gave up on his birth certificate and now they are using the diversion of "did you read his transcripts". When all was said and done, 53% of American voters chose him. On a good day Palin couldn't even spell "transcripts" and look how she is being promoted in the time of reality show politics. You can disagree with Obama's politics, but all this garbage about birth certificates, transcripts and being a Muslim is all GOP diversion to scare the voters because they know they can't win on facts so they win with smear.

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Monsoonman | Dec 27, 2010, 12:45 PM EST

Hey McNamara: Since you brought it up, can you point us in the direction to where obamas school transcripts are located? What his grade point averages were? Which classes he took? Who paid for his education? What nationality/name he used to attend school and perhaps get taxpayer assistance? I'll be thanking you in advance for the information, because everyone seems to hit a legal brick wall when they try to find out about their presidents past....Seems all of that information is sealed away by legal edict and no one gets access to it...Now why do you suppose that is McNamara?

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