This just in: The presumed frontrunner for the 2012 Republican presidential nomination is not qualified to serve as commander in chief, according to recent polls.
Yet there she is, the subject of water cooler talk all across the nation as she hypes her book, “Going Rogue.” I’m talking, of course, of former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, who quit her statewide office halfway through her first term.
Slightly more than half of all Republicans think Palin is qualified. A fraction of Democrats would say she is capable of serving as president. Independents split somewhere between partisans on both sides. All this comes from a CNN/Opinion Research Dynamics survey, which is generally considered to be one of the better political polling outfits in the country.
Republicans have no shortage of potential candidates who are actually qualified to serve if elected. Former Govs. Mitt Romney (Mass.) and Mike Huckabee (Ark.) come mind.
But their standing pales in comparison to Palin’s — at the moment.
Thank goodness that nothing is permanent in politics, which is something Palin is likely to find out the longer she lingers under the glare of the public spotlight.