How Palin could run in 2012, by Gingrich

Tuesday, February 3. Former Speaker of the House of Representatives Newt Gingrich said yesterday that if Sarah Palin gets herself organised she is in a strong position to make a run for the presidency in 2012.

"If Sarah Palin seeks out a group of respectable policy advisers, and spends time staking out a group of policy positions, she will be very formidable," said Gingrich. But he noted that if she did that, the Alaskan governor "wouldn't be the same Sarah Palin" that the hardline GOP hold dear.

There are plenty of rank-and-file Republicans who would far rather their party changed than Palin did. According to a recent Rasmussen poll, 45 per cent of Republicans feel their party has become too moderate and 55 per cent would like to see it become more like Sarah Palin. But America's best-known hockey mum is still a hugely polarising figure: 51 per cent of Republicans have a 'very favourable' regard for her, while an identical number of Democrats (51 per cent) hold a 'very unfavourable' view.

The Hollywood star Ashley Judd certainly holds a strong opinion of Palin. The 40-year-old actress is the star of a recent advertising campaign (below) slamming Palin for promoting the aerial killing of wolves in Alaska, whereby hunters can obtain a permit to shoot wolves from helicopters or planes. In the video, Judd says: "Now back in Alaska, Palin is again casting aside science and championing the slaughter of wildlife." Conservationists have even launched a website, eyeonpalin.com, which calls for donations to help "stop the slaughter from the skies".

Meanwhile, Palin spent the weekend lobbying in Washington to ensure that Alaska gets its fair share of Obama's $890bn national economic rescue package, should it make its way through the Senate. Alaska will need all the money it can get if Palin forges ahead with her plan to build a so-called 500-mile 'road to nowhere' connecting the far western town of Nome with the rest of Alaska. State legislators have expressed concern that the project - which will cost up to $4 million per mile - is a waste of time and money.

FIRST POSTED FEBRUARY 3, 2009