Did Karl Rove Just Indicate Palin Is The Right Person To Beat Obama In 2012?

On Hannity Wednesday, Karl Rove was asked his opinion about President Obama's election chances and tactics given the state of the economy. He replied;


"The president can't run for re-election by drawing attention to a great record on the economy. As a result, I believe, he is going to run a deliberate and overwhelmingly negative campaign against the Republican opponent.


The president will use the enormous powers of his office.The  resources he can gather, to trash the Republican and to eviscerate them on the stump.


We are going  to have to have a Republican candidate who believes in what they believe, knows why they believe what they believe, and can share that with the American public, in a credible and passionate way, and can stand up and  take these blows that are coming their way"


Rove did not give any indication of which candidate he thought would have the required degree of passion, the personal values, the ability to communicate these deeply held values, which are a projection of an inner strength, generated by these values. 


Neither did he indicate which prospective Republican candidate has been tempered by attacks by the media, by both the Democrats and Republicans, by vicious bloggers and hateful members of the public and former colleagues. And, through all that, is still standing strong and has the ability to take the worst President Obama and his team could throw and fight back hard.


Given the vicious campaign to come, driven by a need for the administration to cover their economic failure with personal attacks, and their massive resources, which prospective candidate seems to have the qualities of the tempered fighter that Rove describes?


Romney, Pawlenty, who are the favorites of the GOP establishment? 


Do either of those names conjure up a tested fighter who could take the white hot heat of the media and the administrations attacks? Or does the name Sarah Palin seem to fit the description Karl Rove set out as a prerequisite for a Republican candidate for the hard fought campaign ahead.?


The answer is obvious.