Sarah Palin Embarks on a Road Trip — with Destiny?

In recent weeks, various Republican politicians have announced their entry, non-entry and exit from the presidential primary race next year. The announcements should continue through the coming days. But none of this news has the impact of the non-news that is the reappearance of Sarah Palin.

I know, I know; clearly everything that the ex-candidate for vice president and ex-governor of Alaska does is news, even when she does nothing. There is a symbiosis between the media and Sarah Palin, us and her.

So, what is Sarah Palin not doing? With her family, she has embarked on a bus road trip through historic locations of the United States. On Sunday, the Memorial Day holiday that is the start of the official summer vacation here, she even rode on the back of a motorcycle in a veterans’ parade in Washington. An easy ride to publicity. The conventional view is that Sarah Palin is testing the water to decide whether to enter the presidential race.

The press, to be sure, is frenetically “traveling” with this unconventional politician. Speculation is running wild. In truth, the press is half-lost following Sarah Palin on this voyage without rigid itinerary. She even had a visit to a monument to new American history, Trump Tower, in New York, to meet with its namesake.

Let’s try to understand what happened on the lunatic fringe of the Republican Party. It’s having to swallow the words that announced the political death of Sarah Palin. The death certificates were premature. Among other things, we, the journalists, are always ready to keep her alive in the news. Sarah Palin remains unsurpassed in her capacity to make waves and to mobilize a fervent conservative base. She doesn’t need to do anything very substantial: It is enough to fire some adjectives against President Barack Obama, to make some remark about how she represents the true America and to complain about the hostility of the press. Better still, it is enough to ride on the back of a motorcycle and pose as a patriot in historic locations.

Sarah Palin is a sensation, as she has this media talent, while the majority of the Republican candidates don’t. Her populist chemistry seems genuine, in contrast with the arrogant loftiness of President Obama. The Democrats insist that Sarah Palin is ideal against Obama in the great presidential duel of November 2012. She generates fervor in a sector of the Republican base, but has a high level of disapproval in the electorate in general and a persistent reputation of not being qualified for the presidency.

It is not for nothing that there is disquiet among many chiefs and marketers of the Republican Party about Sarah Palin. Electoral gurus like Karl Rove never tire of signaling the danger she can cause to the party. In the press, salacious stories (obviously belied by the facts) circulate over the comments of Roger Ailes, the head of Fox News (where she has a contract), lamenting having created a political monster. In general terms, Sarah Palin represents a populist insurgency against the Republican establishment and its battalion of conventional candidates. Few politicians dare to treat the press with the pseudo-displeasure of Sarah Palin and hitch such unusual lifts along the political journey like she does. There is the libertarian Ron Paul, but on balance, he is a mixture of the original with the bizarre.

I would like to speak less conventionally and less condescendingly about Sarah Palin. She is attractive and charismatic, and has this talent to confound and surprise, as with this road trip, a pseudo-event full of significance. She also has a populist antipathy for intellectualism. Whoever goes to Harvard, like Obama, is an elitist. And, like Brazilian President Lula da Silva, there is a self-willed business of leave-it-to-me, here-we-go. It is enough to have a flair for the people.

There is still an Obamaist narcissism over the incredible capacity to formulate a narrative. In her case, like an Alaskan mama bear, she’s able to handle various jobs, like raising a family and possibly saving the country from people who are not genuine Americans, like the president. But, apart from all this, it is baloney to call Sarah Palin meaningless, given her potential to change the game of the Republican primaries (even staying out) and set the agenda around themes like cutting spending (pertinent) and social conservatism (impertinent).

Bad luck for the Republican electors, who should invest in more serious people with a focus on fiscal questions and not on the culture wars that motivate Sarah Palin. I have previously written of people like John Huntsman, the ex-governor of Utah, that have potential to be a respectable opponent to Obama (a rare Republican aspirant with international baggage). The drama of politicians like Huntsman is to survive the Republican primaries, with all their farce and Palinisms (it’s no more edifying among the Democrats).

Well, it’s an electoral race, and it won’t do to stray from the line. I’ll finish with a hunch. I think that Sarah Palin is not going to participate in the Republican race. This reappearance (this lift hitched from us) is more a stab at brand management and a capitalization on celebrity. Nothing like having visibility, integrating the highly paid lecture circuit to speak populist platitudes, renewing her contract with Fox and maintaining an influential role in the national conversation without the responsibility to manage tough federal chestnuts. If I am wrong, as a penalty (hardly onerous), I’ll take a road trip from New York to Alaska.