A couple of years back I wrote a bit called The New Nixon, comparing Sarah Palin's post-defeat life to that of another less-than-loved Republican from whom you would not buy a used car.
The premise of the piece wasn't that the Divine Sarah was some foreign policy wonk or centrist ("Bring Us Together") Republican bridge across the aisle, merely that her nonstop campaigning for congressoids in the last mid-terms reminded me much of how Mr. Nixon built the support he'd need in 1968, trudging from district to district, racking up on from state party chairs and fundraisers.
Now, I'm wondering if I picked the wrong '68 personality.
After her brilliantly-framed and surprisingly-adequately-delivered populist jeremiad on Saturday, in which Wasilla Ice decried the "crony corporate capitalism" that had corrupted both major parties, I've become convinced that Herself is indeed running next year.
With Bachmann's star fading and Perry already starting to wilt in the light of real press scrutiny, it seemed obvious to me that the "call" must be getting awfully loud in the former kinda governor's ear. And no one would be happier than Mitt Romney to have the two Teaheamouths battling for the fringes, leaving what remains of the abashed GOP center up for grabs.
GF, as so often happens, turned my head around with one tossoff sentence: "She'd probably go third-party."
I dismissed the idea at first. What could such a move possibly do, other than assure a second term for the president? It would be political madness on a scale with Wallace's '68 run.
But then I remembered. Palin doesn't want to be president. She doesn't like those kinds of, you know, "job" jobs. But a third party run would allow her camera time all the way through 'til November of next year, just what the accountant ordered for a woman who doesn't want to win, but to keep the crony corporate capitalist machine that is Sarah, Inc. alive and thriving.
Now, I'm wondering if my brilliant GF isn't a prophet. Liz Marlantes of the Christian Science Monitor's speculating much the same speculation today in a piece entitled Will Sarah Palin run for president as Tea Party candidate?.
And it might not be so crazy. Current polling shows levels of approval for both parties at historic lows. The new NBC/Wall Street Journal poll out this morning found that 54 percent of voters want to throw out every member of Congress. And while the tea party is much more closely aligned with Republicans than Democrats, the original movement was first fueled by anger toward President George W. Bush.
Marlantes cites influences like the rise of the Americans Elect movement and Tom Friedman to build the case for the viability of a third party in 2012. Whether such data points really make a curve is yet to be seen. I personally doubt a third party, serving tea or any other refreshing beverage, stands a chance at winning the White House.
But. . .
What I or Liz Marlantes think is viable is beside the point. The only one whose belief in life after the two-party system counts is Sarah herself. And if she decides that her time has arrived, it will be a whole 'nother story.
Providing, of course, that whoever wrote that speech on Saturday is willing to ride the train.
Stay tuned. Popcorn futures looking good on the exchanges.