The Palin/ Reagan Comparison

On Sept. 8, 2008, I raised the question of the Palin/Reagan comparison on a message board that I frequent. I'm confident that I was the first on the internet to do so. Since my post, there have been articles written on the internet that mention her and Reagan in the same article, although I don't believe anyone has compared them directly. As the Delaware motto says, its good being first. Its not often that I get to be the first at anything. So let's move on and compare them.

They both created quite the stir when they took front and center on the political stage. The enthusiasm within the Republican party borders on hysteria, something not seen since.....Ronald Reagan. Bush 41 didn't get people pumped up. Bush 43 and the neocons have done nothing but anger true conservatives, even to the point of driving conservatives like me to other parties (Constitution Party anyone?), so you can see that its been a very long time since there was this much excitement among the Rs.

Although I've not heard her speak on illegal immigration, it appears that she is a staunch conservative on most issues. Since Reagan was the last true conservative that the Rs had, she reminds people of a better time when the Rs actually had their act together. Hopefully she doesn't push for amnesty like Reagan did.

Her speaking style and attitude suggests a confident, no nonsense approach where she will stick to her principles instead of caving in in the name of "compromise." Both Bush presidents definitely did not have such an attitude. Bush 43 and his "lets work together with the Dems" attitude has been the antithesis of Reagan.

Reagan followed an unpopular Carter. Palin follows an unpopular GW. While she is only running for VP, the similarity is there in that she is carrying the battle flag of conservatism following a liberal president (and yes, I consider neocons to be liberals).

She seems to have a connection to people through bypassing the media, much like Reagan did and the Bushes did not.

As respondents to my message board post noted, it is only by looking back upon history many years from now that the Palin/Reagan argument can be proposed. Time will tell.

Addendum: Nov. 6, 2008

Having fallen short this time, I predict she will be back. With the Clintons not going anywhere, look for a possible Palin/Hillary presidential race in the years ahead. Obama is sure to be unpopular by the end of his presidency, so the Reagan analogy may still apply since Reagan lost in '68 and '76. Time will tell.

And as for the criticism of her from the McCain camp, I don't buy it. From other reports, it appears that the McCain campaign is just ticked off that she didn't play ball their way. A political renegade, indeed. Just like that other renegade who was the last true conservative in the white house.

Addendum: Aug. 3, 2009

Funny how the media, and even the weak-minded conservatives who went along with them, were throwing Palin under the bus when she resigned as Alaska's governor. What dopes. I predict that she will be back on the political scene in some manner by 2012.