Sarah Palin's 2012 Presidential prospects fade

Prospects of Sarah Palin running for President in 2012 fade as the former Alaska governor continues to slip on Republican ratings, even as former George W. Bush aide Ari Fleischer articulated the sentiment.

A recently released Washington Post/ABC News poll has revealed that Sarah Palin's favorability rating has dropped to an all-time low among Republicans.

Establishing that her unfavorability rating among GOPers has risen to record highs, the poll found that 58 percent of Republicans think of Palin favorably, accounting for a 12-point drop since last October, and a decline from 88 percent just after the 2008 GOP national convention. Nearly 37 percent of respondents said that they actively dislike Palin, amounting to a 16-percent increase since October.

The bottom line: fewer than six in 10 Republicans and GOP-leaning independents see Palin in a favorable light.

Although the the poll still finds Palin near the top of a list of eight potential contenders for the GOP nomination, a troubling reality for presidential hopeful is that her negative ratings among Republicans are higher than those for other possible GOP presidential contenders.

The Washington Post/ABC News poll showed that thirty-seven percent see Palin unfavorably, higher than Gingrich's unfavorable rating by 11 points, Romney's by 16 points and Huckabee's by 19 points.

Meanwhile, a Public Policy Polling survey revealed on Tuesday that four Republicans shared a statistical deadlock with each receiving less than 20 percent of support from GOP national primary voters. The PPP poll said Huckabee leads with 18 percent, Romney at 17 percent, Palin at 16 percent, and Gingrich at 14 percent. A total amount of 15 percent are undecided or favor someone unnamed.

Even as the numbers reflecting Sarah Palin's fading presidential prospects emerged, the former press secretary to President George W. Bush, Ari Fleischer asserted that there's no way, shape or form Sarah Palin can lock the Republican nomination.

I cannot see any way, shape or form that she can win the Republican primary, Fleischer, he is quoted as saying by the Idaho Mountain Express.

Speaking as part of the Sun Valley Center for the Arts' Lecture Series, he noted that he'd never seen such a wide open Republican field, but that the former Alaska governor was not among the serious contenders.

Although this statement re-asserts the apparent Republican sentiment as seen in the polls, Fleischer's remarks are also being interpreted in the light of some tensions prevailing between Palin and Bush wings of the Republican party.