The NY Times reports today that conservatives will meet after the election, whatever happens in it, to plot the future--and that Sarah Palin will be at the top of the agenda:
"Whether the Republican presidential ticket wins or loses on Tuesday, a group of prominent conservatives are planning to meet the next day to discuss the way forward, and whatever the outcome, Gov. Sarah Palin will be high on the agenda....Despite all the criticism, she has many supporters among Republicans who see her as bright, tough and a star in a party with relatively few on the horizon. “She’s dynamite,” said Morton C. Blackwell, who was President Ronald Reagan ’s liaison to the conservative movement. Mr. Blackwell described vying to get close to Ms. Palin at a fund-raiser in Virginia, lamenting that he could get only within four feet. “I made a major effort to position myself at this reception,” he said, adding that he is eager to sit down with her after the election to discuss the future. Asked if the weeks of unflattering revelations and damaging interviews had tarnished her among conservatives, he replied, “Not a bit.”Brent Bozell, president of the Media Research Center, a conservative group, called it a “top order of business” to determine Ms. Palin’s future role. “Conservatives have been looking for leadership, and she has proven that she can electrify the grass roots like few people have in the last 20 years,” Mr. Bozell said. “No matter what she decides to do, there will be a small mother lode of financial support behind her.”
I completely agree. Conservatives are right to put her at the top of their post-election agenda.
When she was picked as John McCain's VP choice, and then when I learned more about her record in Alaska and, especially, when she gave her speech at the Republican convention, I saw smarts, I saw savvy, I saw strength, and I tell you, I saw female-Reaganesque star power. She's got something. She can be a leader, both in the party and among conservatives. She came off badly in a few interviews, but that will soon recede into the past and she'll have plenty of chances to show everyone who she really is. Palin power! It's here to stay.
