Posted on 01/11/2009 8:28:05 AM PST by Josh Painter
Everyone is a political consultant, or at least thinks he or she is. Since Sarah Palin was chosen as the 2008 GOP vice presidential candidate, there has been no paucity of unsolicited advice offered to her by pundits, bloggers and yes, by actual political consultants. I must confess that I have proposed one particular idea for Alaska's governor in the past, and I'll come back to it shortly.
But the advice for Gov. Palin that's making news this week comes from columnist, satirist and best-selling author Ann Coulter. In her new book Guilty, Ms. Coulter mentions Sarah Palin a number of times, according to Ashley Martella of Newsmax.com. What does the blond bomb thrower think Palin should do?
"If I were Sarah Palin's adviser I would strongly advise her to not run in 2012. She's very young."Far be it for this humble scribe to want to argue with Ann Coulter, but whenever I hear "another Ronald Reagan" talk, I worry. Though even Michael Reagan sees Sarah Palin as the reincarnation of his father, to many conservatives, when it comes to the late, great president, it's not unlike the premise of the cult action fantasy yarn Highlander. "There can only be one." It's perfectly sufficient for the governor to be the apostle of Reagan that she is and be the very best Sarah Palin that she can be.Instead, Palin should spend the next 8 or 12 years reading the Federalist Papers and other important political works, Coulter said.
"Raise your children so none of them turn out like Ron Reagan Junior, and be a good governor, and then I think she could be another Ronald Reagan…"
"She has everything you can’t get from books, you can’t get from experience. She has heart and soul and absolute integrity, and charisma, and holds the crowd rapt."
"Now she needs the wisdom and the experience, and I think she could be another Ronald Reagan."
Thre's a second problem with Ann Coulter's prescription. I don't believe 8 or 12 years are required to read The Federalist Papers. Besides, the governor already has a pretty good handle on the concept of federalism. She "gets" Ronald Reagan on government being the problem and not the solution.
My own unsolicited advice for Sarah Palin is to hire Fred Thompson as her issues consultant. The former Senator has only an upcoming talk radio program (he will replace Bill O'Reilly), his FredPAC political action committee and a single guest appearance on ABC's Life on Mars as his workload. That schedule should allow sufficient time for Fred to share with Gov. Palin some of his expertise on policy issues. A Cliff Notes version of his thinking on various issues can be found in his radio scripts from Thompson's days as an ABC radio commentator here.
On foreign policy, Fred has plenty of knowledge to share. Even before he was elected to the U.S. Senate, he was special counsel to two of that chamber's committees, the Senate Foreign Relations Committee from 1980 to 81 and the Senate Intelligence Committee in 1982. After he became a member, he served on the Select Committee on Intelligence. After leaving the Senate, Thompson advised Secretary of State Rice as Chairman of the State Department’s International Security Advisory Board. As a visiting fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, a Washington D.C. think tank, he studied national security and intelligence issues, with a concentration on China, North Korea and Russia. The former Senator also served for two years on the U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission.
Thompson's resume on domestic issues is no less impressive. Prior to becoming a Senator, he was co-chief council for the Senate Watergate Committee, and he served as counsel to Tennessee governor Lamar Alexander. As a Senator, he was a strong proponent of streamlining government and eliminating waste. In fact, he wrote the book on it. Titled Government at the Brink, Thompson's Book not only explained the root causes of government waste and mismanagement, but it presented practical solutions for addressing the problem. He was also a supporter of the flat tax and a line-item presidential veto. The Club for Growth evaluated Fred's record on government spending as "generally impressive." He served as chairman of the Committee on Government Affairs and helped to establish the Department of Homeland Security, doing extensive work on the issue of cyberterrorism and dealt with other national security matters. He was also a member of the Finance Committee and Select Committee on Intelligence. After the Senate, President Bush selected Thompson to prepare Chief Justice Roberts for his Senate confirmation hearings and shepherd him through the process.
Gov. Palin could do a lot worse than to have Fred Thompson as her mentor on national and international issues. And she shouldn't have too much of a problem persuading Fred to lend a hand. His wife Jeri Thompson is a member and spokesperson for Team Sarah. What the governor doesn't know about matters beyond her state, she could learn from Thompson. And she would be up to speed well before Ann Coulter's 8 or 12 years have elapsed.
Fred Thompson could also share with Sarah Palin his insight on the pitfalls of being characterized as "the next Reagan." It comes with a set of expectations that no one, not even Ronald Reagan himself in this day and age, could possibly satisfy.
- JP
What I would prefer is a conservative....and that is NOT THompson...but you already knew that.
I agree with the author. Fred can write and deliver conservative content as well as anyone. He ran for President about 12 years too late, when he no longer had the energy to electrify a crowd.
Sarah is just coming into her prime and Fred could help move her to the next level.
At least Hunter had the sense to quit when he was beaten...Fred....he quit when he was winning...to throw the spoils to McCain after he and and the media had eliminated all the conservatives.
What I know is that your way was EPIC FAIL.
No, he didn’t. He stayed in the race for months after he was beaten. But don’t let the facts get in the way of your argument.
Months? LOL
He entered the race in Sept. 08 and quit Jan. 23, 09.
“He finished with 16 percent of the vote. Sen. John McCain won Saturday’s contest with 33 percent, followed by Huckabee with 30 percent.
Five candidates remain in the Republican race — McCain, Huckabee, Romney, Rep. Ron Ron Paul of Texas and former New York Mayor Rudy Rudy Giuliani.”
http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/01/22/thompson.out/index.html
He could have beaten McCain if he wanted to. He didn’t want to.
So true....
What the 21c century person needs to do is to go back in time and familiarize themselves with the Peter Principle. In the case of Fred Thompson, he reached his level of incompetence when he ran for President, but certainly I believe would be competent to advise Sarah on a wide array of issues. It is the same type of thinking that brands Sarah as the same prospective candidate in 2012 as she was in 2008. Circumstances change and with that performance also is directly impacted.
Before everyone jumps on me about the unqualified Harriet Meiers, I would point out that a lot of the punditry spent a lot of time attacking Meiers on her university degree, her accent, and her make-up. There is a HUGE snob factor amongst a lot of the conservative punditry, and it is wise to remember that.
It's pointless for her to drop her accent. All that would happen is that regular folks would think she was a phony and liberals would make fun of her like she was Eliza Doolittle.
If I were advising her, I would encourage her to give more interviews with friendly or at least neutral people. After getting up to speed, she might tackle one of the network snots. Without being hamstrung by handlers she would do a lot better, IMHO. I also think she should tape every interview she gives, so that creative editing won't twist her words.
Obama is either going to be a success or a disaster. He won't be a caretaker-type president. If he is a success she should stay out of the race until after 2012. If he's a disaster (and we should probably know within a year) then she should gather all of the support (and money) she can get. A war chest impresses the big shots because it demonstrates fund-raising capability and a dedicated base of supporters.
Other than that, I just don't know. I do know I wouldn't take political advice from Ann Coulter. Ann can be funny, but she has a tin ear for how things sound in the political realm.
To be candid, it sure looked like Fred waited until Hunter quit before he did. If he were serious about promoting conservatism he would have picked up the phone and told the only remaining conservative in the race. Instead, that’s not what happened and it looks like the political stalking horse thing is more true than not.
Looks like someone's still sore that Duke's Buddy didn't break 2%
I see that all the “usual suspects” showed up to bash Fred.
“What does she need a sloganeer for?”
Is it because of her gender?
How awful. I thought that in my entire life I would never, ever have to say that.
I don’t care about shade of skin or sex as long as that peson is straight and conservative.
Obama likes both sexes if you folks haven’t been reading.
“Sarah Palin should hire Fred Thompson”
Translation: Gov. Palin is so stupid she needs loser Thompson’s help.
Man!!! If this doesn’t make me angry.
peson = person
She’s a wonderful person - but she should hire the best speaking coach there is. As sad as it is, any contender should do that. In this age of media overkill - the winner is the one who is savvy wnough to know the tricks and possess the skills of debate.
The next conservative GOP candidate will have to be a great debater-—as sharp as Alan Keyes - but electable.
I agree, we have so many talented Senators who qualify for the Imperial Presidency, we need to wait and see which one grants us an audience.
She could shore keep me awake....with all due respect to Mrs WD.
I agree, and I say that as a Coulter admirer.
... Other than that, I just don't know. I do know I wouldn't take political advice from Ann Coulter. Ann can be funny, but she has a tin ear for how things sound in the political realm.
And again, even as a Coulter admirer, this is one of the most perceptive comments I've seen on this forum in some time. Well said.
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