It's Too Late for Sarah Palin to Reconsider

COMMENTARY | When former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin declined to run for president in this election cycle, the disappointment among her supporters was palatable. Undaunted, some Palinistas have put together an ad to run in Iowa.

The title of the ad says it all. "Sarah, Reconsider."

On the one hand, the fact the ad will be running at all shows the depth of feeling Palin's supporters have for her and the possibility that she could become president. One does not see similar efforts attempting to get Mitch Daniels, Tim Pawlenty, or Chris Christie to reconsider their decisions not to run.

Palin would bring undoubted strength to any effort to win the presidency. She has executive experience that most of the other candidates lack. She has run in a national, general election campaign already, as John McCain's running mate. She has demonstrated considerable political strength as a private person, influencing the outcome of the 2010 election. She has two ready-made issues in the form of cro ny capitalism and honest graft in Congress.

Finally, she has been vetted within an inch of her life. There has not been one aspect of Palin's life and career that has not been chewed over, criticized and lied about by her enemies. She has been called names on national TV that would start bar fights in certain parts of the country. In short, nothing could be done to her that has not already been done.

On the other hand, it is a little late in the game. The filing deadlines for the first few primaries have already passed. A write in campaign is certainly possible, but would be very difficult to mount. Palin would also have to create out of whole cloth campaign organizations in each of the contested states, a tall order for someone who has already declined to run.

The reasons for Palin not running have not changed. The entreaties of a group of people with enough money to run an ad does not alter that. Palin knows perfectly well that she has supporters and, in the context of a campaign, stands a pretty good chance of winning.

Besides, there is the often stated truism that when a lady says no, she means it, and it should be respected.! Past a certain point, asking her to change her mind begins to resemble begging, which is unedifying in the extreme.