Pat Dollard | Young Americans

WAPO’S The Fix:

After enduring months of derision within Republican circles for her role as the party’s 2008 vice presidential nominee and her uneven performance as a national figure this year, Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin is experiencing something of a rebound among the D.C. chattering class in the 48 hours since the release of a very tough profile on her in Vanity Fair magazine.

In the wake of that piece — a 9,800 word opus penned by Todd Purdum — a number of operatives who worked closely with Palin during the 2008 campaign have reached out to the Fix to defend the governor.

“She’s a fine person, with unique and unteachable political skills,” said Mark Salter, a senior adviser to Sen. John McCain’s (Ariz.) presidential bid who was deeply involved with the Palin pick. “I’m sure she has a future if she wants one.”

Palin got a vote of confidence from Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Steele as well on Wednesday during an appearance on Fox & Friends.

“Sarah Palin will be a leader in this party,” said Steele during an appearance Wednesday on “Morning Joe.” “She has the ability to galvanize the base, and even folks outside the base. “And I think all the hindsight second guessing and back looking does nothing.”

That sentiment — boiled down to “enough is enough” — seemed to be the prevalent opinion of Republicans in the aftermath of the Purdum piece, which contains a series of background quotes from former McCain-Palin operatives that suggest that the Alaska governor was fundamentally unfit for the job to which she aspired.

Jason Recher, who served as a senior adviser to Palin and her trip director for the general election and has remained supportive of the Alaska governor, told the Fix that he spent two and a half months traveling with Palin and “grew to like and respect her even more as did many of the folks on the plane.” Reche added that the people attacking Palin should “stand up and prove them on the record or move on with their lives like Sarah Palin has.”

To be sure, there are still plenty of Republicans involved in the 2008 campaign who roll their eyes when asked about Palin’s readiness to be vice president or the possibility of her running in 2012 for the top job.

But, the glut of anti-Palin quotes and stories that have bounced about the Washington echo chamber for the better part of the last six months — Is she coming to the congressional fundraising dinner? Why is she fighting with David Letterman? What is going on with her daughter — seem to be having the cumulative effect of turning Palin into a sympathetic figure (at least at the moment) among the GOP operative class.

It’s not uncommon for a series of negative stories — no matter how much truth is contained therein — to have a boomerang effect on the person at the center of the controversy.

One needs only look back as far as the impeachment of former President Bill Clinton to see that phenomenon at work. The wall to wall coverage of Clinton had the effect — over time — of convincing people that Clinton had been beaten up enough and turning public opinion to his side.

That is what appears to be happening at the moment for Palin. The issue is whether she can take advantage of the softening of operatives’ attitude toward her to re-introduce herself to the political set in Washington.

Although Palin will almost certainly run for president as an outsider to Washington (if she runs at all), she will need advocates inside the Beltway to help her raise money and keep a lid on the background sniping that is part and parcel of any presidential bid.

Palin may — finally — be understanding that reality.