so there is one way to become a leader of the republican party, and it seems that actually the leader of the republican party are in the media. rush limbaugh, sean hannity, michael savidge, glenn beck. these are the people we know best in the republican party, given the vacuum at top and given that the people who are the natural leaders, say mitch mcconnell and some others, they're not necessarily tv or radio ready. >> the last one for the troop it's, ms. palin likes to say. she does have a following. could she come back into the fold in time for 2012? >> well, i don't know about yours, richard, the people who love sarah palin and find her charismatic and she does have that "if" thing, they are passionate about sarah palin. there may not be enough of them.

we opened with that poll. there aren't enough of them, perhaps, to drag her across the finish line, but she is going to be a formidable presence, because the people, there's nobody else in the republican party that stirs passions right now. she's the only one, and she's likely now to do it, to stir those passions even more. >> and briefly, for those palin backers out there, should they be worried by those poll numbers? >> well, you know, the ones i hear from, the more she has detractors and the less well she's doing among the mainstream republicans, the better they like her. so in a sense, she's down, she's up to them. and they're going to try to drive you know -- find solace and energy from her lack of favorability and build her up so that all of us see what they see in her. >> barbara carlson of "bloomberg" magazine. many thanks. >> thanks. that's it for this thursday edition of "countdown."

i'm richard wolffe in for keith olbermann. have a good night, everybody. our coverage continues now with "the rachel maddow show." i'm robert shapiro. over a million people

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