governor in July before the end of her first term, many questioned how
she could maintain a national presence without the platform of elected
office.
That hasn’t proven a problem for the onetime
Republican vice presidential nominee, who has kept herself at the
center of political debate with a best-selling book, an appearance on
“The Oprah Winfrey Show” and controversial
postings. Now Palin has found another way to stay in the spotlight: by
signing on as a contributor for the top-rated Fox News Channel.
Palin, who will make her debut Tuesday night on “The
O’Reilly Factor,” will appear regularly as a commentator on the
network. She’ll also be one of the hosts of an occasional series called
“Real American Stories” about how everyday Americans cope with
challenges.
With her hiring,
gets a high-profile figure whose pronouncements on issues such as
health care reform have helped drive contentious partisan debate — it
was her
“She is one of the most talked about and politically polarizing figures in the country,” said
Palin, in turn, gets a large megaphone. Last year,
But whether Palin is able to use her perch at the
network to enhance her stature for a possible 2012 presidential run
remains to be seen.
“It will be hard for her to use this broaden her political base,” said
and author of the book “Celebrity Politics.” “It will strengthen her
support among conservatives, but she already does well among that
group.”
Since exploding into public view as Sen.
indignation for her provocative statements, delivered in her trademark
folksy manner.
While clearly comfortable with the camera, Palin
nevertheless struggled in some television interviews during the race,
particularly during an infamous series of sit-downs with
in which she rambled and appeared unprepared. The interviews inspired a
widely disseminated spoof on “Saturday Night Live” and caused
considerable angst within McCain’s campaign.
During an interview with “60 Minutes” that aired Sunday, top McCain strategist
statements, such as claiming falsely she was exonerated by an ethics
investigation in
“That opened the door to criticism that she was
being untruthful and inaccurate,” Schmidt said. “And I think that is
something that continues to this day.”
Palin’s suggestion on
summer that “death panels” would determine whether seniors and the
disabled deserved health care was voted the biggest political lie of
the year by readers of Politifact.com, the nonpartisan fact-checking
site run by the
Shine said he was not concerned Palin would make false assertions on the air.
“Along the way, we’ll talk to her and have
conversations and I’m sure everything will be fine,” he said, adding
that the expectations that Palin will utter something controversial
will likely drive viewership. “In the end, that’s probably going to
help us in that that’s what people will want to watch.”
Republican strategist
The occasional, selected appearance “is probably safer for keeping her
presidential possibilities open than a daily show where she’d have to
come up with something innovative and entertaining and provocative for
42 minutes, five days a week,” he said.
Still,
Norman Lear Center, which studies the impact of entertainment on
society, said Palin’s new gig will not help her overcome her biggest
vulnerability: her limited experience in public office. When she left
office, she had 18 months remaining in her first term.
“The narrative that hurts her the most is one that she herself began, which is she’s not interested in governing,” Kaplan said.
It is not unusual for a presidential aspirant to play pundit. From 1975 to 1979,
But no one has ever moved from a TV studio to the Oval Office.
“You’ve certainly got plenty of people who spend a
lot of time doing commentary on TV who’ve got some really thoughtful
and interesting things to say,” he said. “And there a plenty of people
who don’t. It will depend on her to come up with the quality and the
content that engages people.”
—
(c) 2010, Los Angeles Times.
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