It was only the second-most disappointing “I”m not running for president” announcement of the week. But while the news that Sarah Palin won’t seek the presidency was greeted with more of a shrug than it would have been six months or a year ago, there are still plenty of hard-core Palinites who are disappointed, Palinologist Shushannah Walshe writes:
While not everyone up and moved their lives to another state, she inspired a passionate support system willing to defend her at all times. Supporters even asked others in the C4P community to bet on Intrade that Palin would run in the hopes that it would encourage her to. These are some of the people who will be the most heartbroken and it’s there that angry supporters that feel jilted are posting and commiserating, a sign that a real backlash against Palin is building in response to her decision.
Other hard-core Palinites, even one who’d uprooted her life and quit her job to work on the (non-existent) Palin campaign in Iowa, cut their heroine a little more slack — without sounding totally willing to fully cut the cord quite yet. ” “I think she’s the best person to carry forward the principals I believe in, but I would never guilt trip or pressure her in,” Michelle McCormick told Walshe. “This is not what this is about.”
Not all the Palin obsessives wanted her to run: Andrew Sullivan, for instance, who is probably as preoccupied with Palin as anyone in the country, wrote a post entitled “Rejoice!”
But Palin promises to play a role in the presidential campaign still, even if only a supporting. Already (at least in her telling) several candidates have reached out to her. It’s no surprise they’re lining up to kiss the ring as quickly as possible. A Palin endorsement would still be a valuable thing, and if candidates are willing to court Donald Trump in New York, surely they’ll be willing to smile for a photo-op with Palin. Is this actually what Trump and Palin were planning at their pizza date?
Earlier: Sarah Palin Is Not Running for President
Inside the Palin Industrial Complex: The People Who Thrive on Speculating About Her Presidential Intentions
Sarah Palin’s Die Hard Supporters ‘Stunned,’ ‘Disappointed’ [Note/ABC]
