Why Palin is Leaving - Think Huckabee

In the age of Obama, image is everything. It's how he got elected. It's how he governs.

Mike Huckabee gets that.

He is building a weekly audience by letting people in to see his agenda in a way that doesn't carry the contrivances of a campaign stop on the back of a caboose. He gets to set the tone. He gets to ask the questions. He gets to showcase his bass playing abilities on a weekly basis (Bill Clinton made just one cameo on Arsenio). He gets to portray himself the way he wants himself to be portrayed. He's on offense with his own show and that show is a significant arrow in his 2012 presidential campaign quiver.

The former Arkansas governor is not doing a weekly show because he wants to be a celebrity. He's doing it because he wants to be a frontrunner.

It's a new age and to reach voters, you have to be in their face while being on your terms. Huckabee seems to have figured that out. He was the Republican runner-up for president in 2008 so why hasn't the liberal media been attacking him instead of Sarah Palin?

Yes, it's true that she has a greater knack for galvanizing the base but one thing she doesn't have that Huckabee now does is the ability to fight back with an offensive weapon - her own show on the #1 cable news channel. She's stuck on a non-contiguous one-state stage while being forced into a national arena with a carnivorous leftwing media.

If ever there was a presidency that came about and whose engine continues to move forward with television imagery as its best friend, the Barack Obama presidency is it. He's on television every day and has learned how to leverage that imagery (despite the teleprompter) to his advantage.

Assuming Palin is neither wilting under the pressure of unceasing attacks nor pre-emptively attempting to stave off the revelation of some scandal, wouldn't it make sense for her to take the Huckabee route?

Every time Katie Couric, Matt Lauer, or Charlie Gibson, etc. want to talk to her, odds are good it'll be a forum in which she will have to defend herself from comments made by the likes of David Letterman. The invitation comes with ulterior motives like ratings. Being on the defensive is no way to increase your appeal. Putting others on defense is definitely more preferable (anyone think Couric would agree to show up on the Sarah Palin show as a guest?).

Sarah Palin has proven herself as a governor. It doesn't matter what state it is. She's also proven herself as someone who can galvanize the conservative base while standing up to the national pressure of a vice presidential debate. Maybe it's time for her to set the terms of the debates she's being dragged into against her will.

If Palin hasn't tired of the exposure and is conversely motivated and fueled by the attacks, maybe it's time for her to showcase her abilities. She was a newscaster and a journalism major. She understands the power of the television medium. She's done well with it. She's attractive and strong. When in front of the camera, she knows how to play the base like Mike Huckabee knows how to play the bass.

The age of Obama has shown that visual imagery is extremely powerful and being on offense while using it is far more desirable than constantly having to defend your honor with it.