Opinion: If Palin Enters the 2012 Contest, Christie Will Too

By Juan Williams, Fox News

What will it take to get Chris Christie to say yes and run for the GOP nomination?

Come on down -- Sarah Palin.

If the queen of the Tea Party makes a grand entrance into the Republican primary sweepstakes the New Jersey governor will finally say yes to all the calls for him to jump into the race.

At this moment Palin has reason to think she should run. A mid-September McClatchy/Marist poll of registered voters put her only 5 percentage points behind President Obama in a head-to-head match-up. No previous poll ever put her in the elite category of Republicans within striking distance of defeating the president.

This week Palin, appearing on Fox News, said she has to make up her mind soon because “You have to get your ducks lined up in order to get your name on ballots.” She emphasized that she doesn’t need the title of president to make a difference in American politics. Still, the former Alaska governor, apparently responding the recent good poll numbers, said she is confident she can win the White House in 2012 because “Americans are ready for someone outside the box.”

All the talk about Palin has the Republican political establishment seeing red. They fear losing control of the nominating process and the whole party spiraling down, sinking into a sea of far-right polarization and the cult of personality around Palin if “Sarah Barracuda” – her nickname as star high school basketball player -- swims into their waters and begins eating up Mitt Romney, Rick Perry and the other current Republican candidates.