Sarah Palin's forthcoming reality TV series has the potential to be a ratings sensation, but it may further erode the ex-governor's credibility as a presidential candidate. At least one establishment Republican thinks so. That would be Karl Rove, the man who, for many years, was responsible for polishing the credentials of a hard-partying son of a one-term president.

Now the Wall Street Journal/Fox News pundit is fretting about the presidential prospects of Sarah Palin. He's worried that becoming a fixture on the Discovery Channel won't exactly lend the "gravitas" that the American people look for in someone they'd like to see in the Oval Office. "Being the vice-presidential nominee on the ticket is different from saying 'I want to be the person at the top of the ticket,'" Rove said to The Daily Telegraph. Americans want to say "'that candidate is doing things that gives me confidence that they are up to the most demanding job in the world.'" Chasing around grizzly bears and dog-sled racing in the Alaskan wilderness isn't exactly what Rove (whom fellow conservatives have tried to brand an "elitist") sees as laying the groundwork for a 2012 run.

If it's any consolation to Palin, Karl Rove has consistently expressed an even dimmer view of Tea Party candidate Christine O'Donnell.

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Erik Hayden