Lingle for Hawaii

[HST1948]

I honestly don't think that she'd make this any more competitive than any of the other Republicans out there. Anyone who thinks Lingle would win this under normal circumstances is probably thinking about first term Lingle who had approval ratings in the upper 70's, not second term Lingle who left office with approvals in the low 40's.

[HST1948]

I've already seen two instances of the MSM spooging themselves over Linda Lingle, falsely claiming her to be popular when she's not anymore. This is going to be a long campaign season.

The mainland MSM is frequently clueless when it comes to Hawaii politics, though whether they are truly clueless or disingenuously trying to create a story in this case is unknown.

I also wanted to add a bit of a disclaimer on my post about Akaka.  While there were suggestions in 2006 that he was getting senile, I personally don't know if this was the case.  I don't live in the state and don't feel in a good position to make that assessment.  Case tried to capitalize politically on those rumors and earned a lot of ill will as a result.

Obama being at the top of the ticket is a massive problem for Lingle, but her own record is almost as big of a problem.  She oversaw the utter boondoggle known as the Superferry, her handling of the state's budget cuts infuriated the powerful unions and left the public particularly dissatisfied over cuts to education and her close association with and campaigning for Sarah Palin angered many.  I think those items are the primary reasons for the large drop-off in her job approval during her second term. 

On a personal level, I lost all respect for Lingle after she vetoed Hawaii's civil unions bill.

Agreed.