Obama 1, Palin 0. And Yet….

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Another striking nugget from the poll Joe flagged:

In contrast to glowing reviews for the president, former Alaska governor Sarah Palin (R) draws more negative than positive evaluations of the way she has handled the tragedy. About 30 percent give her positive marks, while nearly half – 46 percent – disapprove of her actions. About a quarter in the poll expressed no opinion. Fewer than half of all Republicans approve of Palin’s handling of the matter, with positive marks rising to just 56 percent among conservative Republicans.

Great news for Democrats, as it confirms the notion that Palin isn’t catching on with the majority of Americans who are skeptical that she can (or should) be president. It’s more complicated for Republican 2012 presidential candidates, however. Most conservative Republicans, as you might expect, will usually rally to the former Alaska governor when the frame, as she portrays it, is Palin versus the media and liberal partisans (a redundancy in the conservative hot house, of course). And guess who turns out to vote in the GOP primaries? Conservative Republicans.

Based on how things look today, it’s awfully hard to imagine Palin delivering the 2013 State of the Union speech. But it’s certainly plausible to think that she can make a strong run at–and maybe even win–the GOP nomination. And even if she doesn’t run, Palin can wreak havoc by speaking to her fans in the GOP base. Which is why the other ’12 Republicans tread with extreme caution whenever her name comes up.