After the longest presidential campaign in US history America finally spoke and chose Barack Obama to be its 44th president. President-elect Obama faces daunting challenges as he begins his first term following his inauguration on January 20th of 2009. From the economic meltdown to the culture war in this country between the hard left and the hard right to the war with terrorism President-elect Obama seems to have the odds stacked against him. While campaigning Mr. Obama was able to blame George W. Bush for the countries woes but soon he will discover what every American President discovers, the buck stops with the man in charge. It won't take very long before the excitement of having a new president will begin wear off and Obama will find himself pitted against varying interests in this country, some of which supported his candidacy before his election.

While Obama is wildly popular now it is very possible, even quite likely that four years from now he will have considerably less support than he does now. Because even if he governs effectively there is now way  that he will be able to satisfy all competing interests at once, sooner or later he will have to choose sides, take positions, and thus alienate himself from a segment of the US electorate. Which means a President Obama may be more vulnerable in 2012 than the young political phenom was in 2008.Which leads me to ask the following question, "who will the GOP choose to run against Obama in 2012? The names are plentiful ranging from Bobby Jindal (Gov. LA), to Mitt Romney (Former Gov. of MA) to Mike Huckabee (former Gov. or AR) but the favorite is undoubtedly Sarah Palin the Governor of Alaska who ran with Senator McCain in his failed presidential campaign. Now Palin is certainly not a lock for the RNC nomination in 2012, alot can happen in four years, but there is no doubt that Palin currently has a distinct advantage at this time.

Now Palin's detractors suggest that she lacks the intellect and the knowledge to occupy the highest office in the land but I do not agree and more importantly neither does the GOP. In a recent poll by Rasmussen Reports Sarah Palin was seen in a favorable light by 91% of Republicans and Very Favorable by 64%. In addition Palin was seen as the front runner for the nomination in 2012 by 64% of republicans with Huckabee preferred by 12% and Romney by 11%. So in a nut shell Palin has a very good shot at becoming the first female nominee for the Presidency by either party in a general election. And don't sell Palin short she could win if she chooses to run in 2012. I know it’s hard to imagine her defeating the Obama machine but it is not impossible and if anyone could do it my bet would be that it would be Sarah Palin.

Now let me say that Sarah Palin is not ready, at present, to win the nomination. Palin lacks understanding of key policy, judicial, economic, and foreign affairs issues, but these are things that Palin can learn and must master between now and 2010 when she would need to begin her campaign for the presidency. Governor Palin is a smart lady who will be a truly formidable opponent once she has a handle on the complicated issues that face America. Palin is a good decision maker who is also a principled reformer which is exactly what America needs in the Whitehouse. Palin is not someone who is likely to lose her way in the beltway trying to please special interest groups or getting dragged down by the corruption so inherent in the politics of Washington D.C. If Sarah Palin develops into the polished politician that she has the potential to become, while holding on to her folksy attitude and sweet demeanor, she will be a political animal to reckon with in the GOP for years to come and maybe even the first female president of the United States.

In baseball, big league clubs have farm teams where they develop young players until they are ready to play in the majors. I believe that Sarah Palin is one of the GOP's top prospects heading towards 2012. If she follows the model of Ronald Reagan who after losing his bid for the presidency in 1976 mastered the issues and crystallized their solutions into ideas that could be easily understood and communicated in common language Governor Palin has a real shot in 2012. If she works hard and develops her knowledge base and understanding of the key issues, there is no ceiling for someone with her raw talent. The question is will she reach her potential and help to resurrect the GOP? I think she just might.