Sarah Palin defender tells CNN: She has no chance of beating Barack Obama

Filmmaker John Ziegler has been one of Sarah Palin’s most vocal supporters. He got her cooperation for his film “Media Malpractice,” which blasted the press coverage of her.

But Ziegler told CNN’s “Reliable Sources” this morning that it would be devastating for the Republican Party if Palin ran for president next year.

“She has no chance of beating Barack Obama, and the media narrative that has been created about her is the No. 1 reason why,” Ziegler told Howard Kurtz. “It’s not her fault. It’s not fair.”

Ziegler even issued a challenge to conservatives on the Palin issue. “Any prominent conservative, the first one that takes me up, it’s $1,000 bet at 100-1 odds that Sarah Palin will not be elected president in 2012,” Ziegler said. “If you’re one of those conservative commentators that thinks I’m crazy for saying that Sarah Palin has no chance to beat Barack Obama, put your money where your mouth is, $1,000 at 100-to-1 odds, and I’ll pay it up if she’s ever elected in 2012, which isn’t going to happen, unfortunately.”

Ziegler described the coverage of Palin as “horrendous” but praised her because “she made lemonade out of lemons.” He cited the “horrible” media coverage as prompting her to resign as governor of Alaska.

Why such frankness about Palin? Ziegler recently cut his ties to Palin’s camp. In an essay in “The Daily Caller,” he said that Palin has “a bunker mentality” and complained that people close to her get tossed under the bus. In the very interesting interview on ”Reliable Sources,” he cited the reasons she won’t fare well in a run for the White House.

“Most people don’t understand the resignation from the governorship of Alaska, which is the main reason why I don’t think she should run for president,” Ziegler said. “It’s an issue that’s absolutely dead on arrival.”

He also complained about Palin’s approach to the media. “I disagreed strongly with her decision to go on Fox,” Ziegler told Kurtz. “I told her that, because after she resigned, I thought, well, the last chance to try to get her message out to the middle of America and not just preach to the choir would be going on a major network, maybe do ABC Sunday mornings, or something like that. Her celebrity certainly allowed her numerous options to do that. But she has chosen to play to the base. That’s fine if you want to sell books. That’s fine if you want to do a reality show. That’s fantastic if you want to make money for your family.”

What do you say to that?