Image and Issues

Public Image

         Sarah Palin’s public image was destroyed during the 2008 election. It was said that she was not smart enough to be in the White House, it was also said that she was “going rogue”. After it came out that Bristol (her eldest daughter) was “16 and pregnant” became an issue for her public image. It was also an issue of privacy and that families should be off limits. Obama had even said, “Bristol Palin’s pregnancy has no relevance to the governors performance.” There is no doubt that even now she is still under scrutiny. People are worried that she will make the Presidential race into a reality show. Palin will really want to focus on her issues and try to stay focused on what is important for her to be successful, not try to be everyone’s best friend and to keep a close eye on what is going on so she is not perceived as not capable or not fit to run.

Analysis

         Strengths, Palin has many strengths because she is widely known and she can connect with women and the mother demographic easily because she is a mom. She has become a household name which gives her the power to be more influential if used the right way. Her influence was illustrated when she boosted and endorsed dozens of successful congressional candidates.

         Weaknesses, with strength comes weakness, now since her name is known the more people know it seems the less they like about her. Her public missteps in response to the shooting in Tucson and President Obama’s State of the Union have further eroded her public support.

         Opportunities, Palin has many opportunities, because we have now had a Democrat in office for 2 terms, so people want change which can help her. It is also the right time for women to be elected to the White House so this could also help because we are looking for change.

         Threats, while there are things that could help she also has to deal with her image and what is going around in the public, yes many people love her but there is also a big group that does not like her. She will have to overcome this to be elected.

Issues

         Palin will need to cater to the minorities and a different sector of people if she wants to do well in this next election. She already has the support around her, she just needs to expand and gain those other votes. We all know that when it comes to gun control that Palin is just like the Texans, we are all about our right to be able to protect ourselves. She has also made it clear that she will want to overturn this because “young people are ObamaCare suckers: they must pay the bill”. Palin will also look for tax cuts, and try to get something done instead of just having people say they will do it but actually put a plan in place. Of course she will also run on family values, because she is a mother and is big into family, which will be a big point in this election also.

References: http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/news/politics/election2008/2008-09-01-palin-daughter_N.htm