Beinart spies an opening:
Maybe I’m giving Palin too much credit, and the GOP not enough. Candidate Palin might perform so hideously in debates and interviews (if she took part in any) that even her ideological soul mates would turn away. Certainly, prominent Republicans will scream that she’s unelectable. But it’s worth remembering that candidates rightly called unelectable have won nominations in the past. The GOP nominated Barry Goldwater in 1964; Democrats nominated George McGovern in 1972.
They did so at moments when traditional party elites were being disempowered by a cadre of ideologically zealous activists, as the Tea Party is doing in the Republican Party today. Goldwater and McGovern were far more substantive than Palin, to be sure. But they won because they inspired passion, because their opponents were weak, and because their party wasn’t in a tactical mood. Could that happen again in 2012? If I were Sarah Palin, I’d want to find out.
The Dish 