Shorter Matthew Continetti:

Fappity-fap-fap fap

Actual Matthew Continetti:

This has been a great couple of weeks for Sarah Palin. Her endorsements show that her finger is on the pulse of Republican voters. She released a campaign-style video that won plaudits from the D.C. establishment. Her PAC announced that it had raised funds commensurate with other serious contenders for the 2012 Republican nomination. A PPP poll showed her tied with Obama in a hypothetical matchup (though a Time poll showed Obama trouncing her, and obviously such polls tell us absolutely nothing about the state of politics two years from now). Today, Gallup released a survey showing that, among Republicans, Palin has the highest name recognition — and highest favorables — of any major potential candidate for the 2012 nod.

Yeah. But then there is this:

For many Democrats in Washington, a Sarah Palin presidential run would be a dream come true.

As their thinking goes, Palin’s popularity among Republican base voters in early primary states would be enough to swamp the rest of the 2012 field and vault the conservative firebrand to the GOP nomination.

But in a general election, her standing among independent and swing voters, which began to crater in the closing weeks of the 2008 presidential race, might be too much to overcome.

[...]

Among all Americans, though, Palin’s numbers are upside down. More Americans view her in a negative light (47 percent) than a positive one (44 percent). What’s more, only nine percent of Americans haven’t formed an opinion of the former Alaska governor, making it difficult for her to correct that deficit.

I honestly don’t know if Continetti is this stupid or if he was given the assignment by Bill Kristol to be the Weekly Standard’s designated Suicide Bomber for Sarah.

To be safe: probably both.