COMMENTARY | In her speech at the tea party rally in Indianola, Iowa, former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, a maybe or maybe not candidate for president of the United States, performed an act of triangulation that must have taken even Bill Clinton’s breath away.
On the one hand, Palin laid in on President Barack Obama with a will, ridiculing his upcoming jobs speech and his tendency to blame everyone and everything, including those “gosh darned ATM machines,” for the economic malaise except for his own policies. She also attacked Obama’s policy of “crony capitalism,” which includes green jobs and high speed rails.
On the other hand Palin gave some of her own party, who she called the “permanent political class,” as being long on rhetoric and short on action. According to Radio Nova:
“‘Folks, you know that it’s not enough to just change up the uniform,’ Palin said. ‘If we don’t change the team and the game plan we won’t save our country.’”
By a new team, Palin might have someone in mind, but did not indicate whom that might be, despite being given the constant queue of “Run Sarah Run!” from the crowd. One almost expected her to pause, pretend to consider, and then say, “You talked me into it.”
Not quite, though. Palin will either announce or decline to do so when she is ready and not before.
As for the new game plan, it can be boiled down to this. Cut spending, reform taxes (including the corporate tax rate), unleash private business by relaxing regulations, and no more subsidies or bailouts. In other words, Palin’s prescription for our economic woes, while not having exact details, was a good, old fashion free market solution that likely had President Reagan giving his wry smile in the afterlife.
By “triangulating,” criticizing Obama and some of her fellow Republicans, Palin continues to prepare the battlefield for a possible presidential run. Making the case that Obama should be retired is a given for any Republican presidential candidate. But Palin also began to make the case that she would be the best suited to do that. The crowd in Indianola seemed to eat that up. Whether the wider American electorate will do so remains to be seen.
Source: Over 2000 gather on rainy Saturday to see Palin, O Kay Henderson, Radio Nova, Sept. 3, 2011