Chasing Sarah

Ross Douthat checks in this morning with one of many Sarah Palin inspired posts floating around the web these last few days. Douthat engages in the typical post-game analysis of where Palin went wrong and what is in her future. Not a lot of new ground covered there, but where he takes a more fresh perspective is when he remind us of her continued appeal with the masses:

In a recent Pew poll, 44 percent of Americans regarded Palin unfavorably. But slightly more had a favorable impression of her. That number included 46 percent of independents, and 48 percent of Americans without a college education.

That last statistic is a crucial one. Palin’s popularity has as much to do with class as it does with ideology. In this sense, she really is the perfect foil for Barack Obama. Our president represents the meritocratic ideal — that anyone, from any background, can grow up to attend Columbia and Harvard Law School and become a great American success story. But Sarah Palin represents the democratic ideal — that anyone can grow up to be a great success story without graduating from Columbia and Harvard.

Here’s what I had to say about Palin’s now famous populist rhetoric back in November:

What Palin was selling was a vision. It’s the vision of small towns where everyone knows each other. Where we can leave our doors unlocked at night. Where everyone goes to the football game on Friday night. Is it a an accurate vision? No. But it’s one we all aspire to.

Maybe Sarah Palin is too flawed at this point to ever wage a comeback. Or maybe not. Newt Gingrich has done some magnificent image rebuilding (he still has a long way to go) and Grover Cleveland got himself back in the Whitehouse after being thrown out four years earlier. Stranger things have happened indeed. Palin remains a riveting figure and she has the years on her side. I have no doubt that all eyes will be on her for quite some time.