I was struck that Sarah Palin did so poorly in the straw poll of conservatives (13%, tied with Ron Paul) at the big conservative confab this weekend. It may be that participants were just annoyed that she didn’t show up but I also wonder whether we have another Dan Quayle scenario. Conservatives rallied around Quayle because he was mocked by liberal elites. But when he actually went out on his own and presented himself as a leader of the Republican Party in 2000, he fizzled (came in 8th in the Ames Iowa straw poll).
It turns out that conservatives loved him because liberals loathed him. It also turns out that, while useful, that’s not quite enough.