Iowa Republicans voiced scepticism on Monday over Sarah Palin’s claim to be contemplating a campaign for president in 2016, amid criticism of her unusual speech to a conservative rally in the state.

The former Alaska governor and vice-presidential nominee revived speculation about her future over the weekend by twice telling reporters that she was interested in running for the White House next year, before addressing the Freedom Summit in Des Moines.

However, her disjointed 33-minute speech – in which she described President Barack Obama as an “overgrown little boy who is acting kinda spoiled”, and declared “the man can only ride you when your back is bent” – received poor reviews even from some conservatives.

“I like Sarah Palin, but I’m not a fan of this speech,” said the Iowa Republican’s Kevin Hall. “It’s all over the place and the delivery is not that great.” John Fund, a commentator for the conservative magazine National Review, described the speech as “meandering and often bizarre”, and said that Palin “clearly lacks the discipline for a full-fledged campaign”.



Byron York, an influential conservative columnist for the Washington Examiner who has previously defended Palin, said that her “long, rambling, and at times barely coherent speech left some wondering what role she should play in Republican politics”. Joe Scarborough, the morning TV host and former Republican congressman, lamented the situation as “a tragedy”.

Several Republican operatives in Iowa, where voters will have the first say on nominating the 2016 presidential candidates at the state caucuses in a year’s time, were doubtful on Monday that Palin would enter the race. She declined to join the less crowded Republican primary field in 2012 after a protracted flirtation with doing so.

“My impression is that she will not run,” said Drew Ivers, the chairman of former congressman Ron Paul’s 2012 Iowa campaign. “The field is awfully crowded, with a lot of heavyweights”. Ivers said Palin would be more effective taking an “activist position” on the sidelines.

Wes Enos, the deputy campaign manager for former congresswoman Michelle Bachmann’s Iowa bid in 2012, described Palin as a “minor blip” and said the speech was merely an attempt to reverse waning public interest and possibly secure another book or television deal. “People have mostly stopped talking about Sarah Palin,” he said. “I think she just doesn’t want to be out of the conversation”.

Enos was among Iowa Republicans who said they would prefer Palin not to run. “I frankly think that her time has passed, and I think there are much better candidates out there with a lot more substance, a lot more ability and a lot more drive,” he said.

Craig Schoenfeld, a veteran Iowa operative who ran former president George W Bush’s Iowa campaign in 2000, said Palin could be a welcome addition to the race. However, he said reaction to her speech on Saturday was “mixed” and that she needed to build a grassroots infrastructure and raise money to be taken seriously as a prospective candidate.

“There’s an interest, but whether that interest is more curiosity versus people looking at her for substantive answers I don’t know,” said Schoenfeld. “I don’t think, at least in Iowa, her almost celebrity status over some of the others gets her any type of advantage.”

Palin confused many onlookers with the directions taken in her remarks, which featured a freewheeling preamble of almost 10 minutes – half the time allotted to each speaker.

At one point, while appearing to be talking about her daughter Bristol, Palin said: “Photos of her were posted. They were candid photos. She was au naturel, just nothing on but leather. A strip of leather.” She then made clear she was in fact talking about the family dog.

Responding to criticism over a photograph recently published in the media showing one of her sons standing on the dog, Palin brought up Obama’s past admission that he had eaten dog meat as a child in Indonesia. Accusing the president of assaulting “innocent Indonesian puppies”, Palin said: “Better a stepping stone than a snack.”

She appeared to make a dig at Hillary Clinton’s age, asking “is Hillary a New Democrat, or an old one?” She told Republicans that they were engaged in “a war”, adding that Republicans “don’t sit on our thumbs”. To “any Muslim who would choose evil”, she said, during a critique of Obama’s anti-terrorism policy: “This is our house, get the hell out.”

Nicolle Wallace, the former aide to George W Bush who struggled to control Palin while charged with overseeing her for the presidential campaign of Senator John McCain in 2008, said the speech had given the public a true picture of the former governor.

“This is who she is,” Wallace told MSNBC on Monday morning. “This, to me, is evidence that she has finally shed every last one of those ‘annoying’ handlers.”

Neutral observers with experience of covering her were also left bemused. “I don’t say this lightly,” said Scott Conroy, the co-author of a book about Palin’s involvement in the 2008 presidential campaign. “This is the strangest speech I’ve ever seen Sarah Palin deliver.”