Sarah Palin Will Do Oprah, Appear at Pro-Life Event as Polling Numbers Falter
by Steven Ertelt
LifeNews.com Editor
October 21, 2009
Washington, DC (LifeNews.com) — With polling numbers showing her now trailing Mike Huckabee and Mitt Romney among Republicans, Sarah Palin is striking back. To coincide with the release of her book "Going Rogue," she will do an interview with Oprah Winfrey and appear at a large pro-life event in Wisconsin.
Winfrey will interview the former Alaska governor for an episode of "The Oprah Winfrey Show" to air Monday, November 16.
Winfrey and Palin will meet for the very first time on the episode, which will mark Palin’s first interview to discuss her upcoming book, "Going Rogue: An American Life" and her first-ever appearance on the "Oprah" show.
The Winfrey show released the following statement: "Former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin burst onto the national political scene as running mate for Sen. John McCain in the 2008 presidential election. Now, following her decision to step down as governor of her home state of Alaska, and on the eve of the release of her first book, Palin will speak first to Oprah in a world exclusive interview."
The interview is somewhat controversial given Winfrey’s snub of an interview with Palin during the presidential campaign.
Winfrey was also under fire from pro-life advocates for her extensive campaigning and support for pro-abortion presidential candidate Barack Obama.
Meanwhile, Palin will be the featured speaker for Wisconsin Right to Life on November 6 at a gala event in Milwaukee. The event will be at the Wisconsin Exposition Center at State Fair Park and is a fundraising opportunity for the pro-life group.
This is the second time this year Palin will have appeared at a massive pro-life event.
In April, Palin spoke to thousands of pro-life advocates in Evansville, Indiana at what is billed as the largest Right to Life banquet anywhere in the country.
Palin criticized pro-abortion President Barack Obama for his rapidly growing pro-abortion record and she challenged the idea that abortion is the only solution for women — even during a time of financial distress.
The speech was the first major public event during 2009, the year following her Republican nomination for vice-president and these events may help establish herself as a 2012 presidential candidate.
The interview and pro-life speech are needed if Palin wants to ramp up her numbers within the Republican Party.
Recent polling data is showing her losing support to Huckabee.
Rasmussen Reports indicates that, when given a list of five candidates and asked who they would vote for in 2012, 29% of Republican voters nationwide say Huckabee, while 24% prefer Romney and 18% Palin.
That is a departure from the July poll that found a three-way tie when 25% said Romney, 24% Palin and 22% Huckabee.
In the new poll, looking at other potential candidates, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, who is pro-life, gets 14% of the vote while pro-life Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty gets 4%. Six percent of Republican voters prefer some other candidate while 7% remain undecided.
Rasmussen also notes some other problems for Palin.
"Twenty-one percent (21%) of primary voters also say Palin is the GOP candidate they would least like to see win the party’s presidential nomination. Just nine percent (9%) say the same of Romney, and eight percent (8%) feel that way about Huckabee," the polling firm notes.
"In early July, 40% of Republican voters nationwide said Palin’s decision to resign as governor of Alaska hurt her chances of winning the party’s presidential nomination in 2012," it added.
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