What Sarah Palin Needs To Do Now to Become President

Recently a subscriber to the Sarah Palin Blog sent me an email asking what I thought Sarah Palin needs to do to now to position herself for a run for President in 2012.

I listed 7 things:

1) A book and book tour will help
2) Write Oped pieces for te Wall Street Journal and USA today on Energy Independence
3) Continue to do Fundraisers for other candidates
4) Become National Spokesperson for Downs Syndrome
5) Lead a rally on Washington of Mothers with Special Needs children
6) Don't run for re-election, instead head a national initiative on reducing dependence on foreign oil
7) Appear frequently on Sunday Morning News shows

The one I really debated was number six. Is it better to run for re-election and then run for President as a two term Governor? Or is it better to not start a job you don't plan on finishing and put all your efforts into a national campaign?

I came to the conclusion that a run for re-election is fraught with problems. Nothing less than a landslide will be seen as good enough. If she doesn't run, Sarah leaves as a popular Governor and can hit the lower 48 running.

U.S. News and World Report has more in an article entitled Sarah Palin’s To-Do List if She Wants to Run for President in 2012.

In the article writer Kevin Walsh has two important additions to the list of things she has to do for 2012 - bring on some slick political operatives to start her campaign now and continue to do a great job as Governor of Alaska.

Here is Kevin's article:

Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin has some important political decisions to make. Republican insiders say that if she wants to maintain her viability as a presidential contender in 2012—after making such a big splash as the GOP vice presidential candidate this year—she needs to bring aboard some savvy political operatives who can help her decide what kind of events she should do and which she should avoid.

"There's still a lot of talk about her," says a longtime party strategist and former adviser to Ronald Reagan. "She's still a hot property, but she needs to put a system together. She doesn't have much in the way of political infrastructure up there [in Alaska]. It will be interesting to see how she allocates her time."

Another senior Republican who advised presidential nominee John McCain this year said, "She needs to focus on being a good governor. If she is going to be a national figure, she needs to be known for her reform work in Alaska."

Last Sunday, Palin got a bit of bad news when McCain told ABC's This Week that he can't, at this time, back Palin for the top job. Asked whether he would support her, McCain replied, "I can't say something like that. We've got some great other young governors. I think you're going to see the governors assume a greater leadership role in our Republican Party."

McCain did express "admiration and respect" for his running mate and said no one should doubt "my view of her viability."