Political Challenges

The biggest issue in the current political climate for Sarah Palin to run for president would be her reputation. After talking with family members and friends the most heard comment was the reference to her reputation and leaving her position of Governor of Alaska. Palin doesn't have a lot of experience or knowledge in the international world of politics. This causes people to believe that Palin wouldn't be able to survive in a world of foreign policy and would be the laughing stock of the international world.
Another major issue for Palin is party support. Many republican officials have come out and said that they would not support her as a president. Therefore, if she did win the election her party in the house might oppose her. Some like Karl Rove and Haley Barbour, strong republicans in her party, have taken it as far to start a "stop Palin" campaign. Also, because of this opposition people might be afraid to elect a president who will have a hard time passing policies through the house that she campaigned for.
Palin also has a way of personal self destruction. In most of the research we have done from her campaign with John McCain in 2008 it shows that she doesn't stick to the facts. Many times after Palin would come out with a statement someone from her party, or another party, would come out with hard facts that she wasn't correct about. There is also a question if she can stick to putting all of her energy towards the election and if she can obtain the correct staff to get her there. The fact is when times got tough during her hold of the Governor position in Alaska, she stepped out which throws a major red flag for Americans. Most feel that she isn't stable and wouldn't be able to handle the criticism a president has to take in the White House. Therefore, they feel that when the times get tough it would send her running like she has proven she will do. Another major issue of Palin was her Hollywood firestorm of constant publicity. She has had a rough go with her daughter’s pregnancy all over the news and the issues her family was having right in the middle of the public eye. The media is a major downfall for her because she did place herself right in the middle of it by going on late night television and other shows that slandered her name. There have also been various websites and blogs created to trash her and her lifestyle.
To overcome these issues we would first need to start by education. We will start off by putting her through educational courses with the basics of the country going all the way back to the 1800's. We need to put a more positive imagine of Palin and her dedication out to the public. Therefore, we will have her be more interactive with foreign policy so she can become familiar with it and show that she is wanting to learn and be a part of it. Palin has been somewhat absent when it comes to foreign affairs and the only way to change that, and American's views of her capability of being involved, would be to give her more experience in the field.
Palin has created a strong following of people, good or bad, in the media because she hasn't been too private. Therefore, we would start by slowly pulling her, and her family, back from the media with their private lives. However, Bristol competing on dancing with the stars is a good media time. We want the public to feel that they can interact with the family but we don’t want the public inside of the family’s issues. Palin’s opposition in the Republican Party would be a major target for us to correct. Most of the views of her are preconceived and to fix that we would need to interact with officials on a daily basis. We want to expose Palin’s character to the rest of her party so that officials are getting a firsthand experience of her views and not the slandered media version. Palin is more of a misunderstood figure within the American Politics world because of her charismatic character and the fact that she’s not afraid to be honest and stick to her guns politically. Therefore, we would use this with her party to show that if she believes in something it’s going to get done!
There is no way to correct the media firestorm Palin participated in but we can use it to our advantage. Showing her as an everyday person with a sense of humor could work to her advantage because the American public can relate. However, we would need to show a more serious side to her as well. Therefore, press conferences, fundraising events, and other public events will be used as a time for serious policy talk and plans for the future.