Should Donald Trump and Sarah Palin run as a GOP presidential ticket?
Should Donald Trump and Sarah Palin run together as a shovel-ready Republican presidential ticket?
We bring this up because over the weekend, the ex-governor of Alaska gave the current reality-show star an attaboy for his embrace of “birtherism.” You know, the school of thought that holds that President Obama was not born in the United States and therefore is not eligible for the job he now has, constitutionally speaking.
“I appreciate that ‘The Donald’ wants to spend his resources in getting to the bottom of something that so interests him and many Americans – you know, more power to him,” Ms. Palin said Saturday on Fox News’s “Justice With Judge Jeanine.” “He’s not just throwing stones from the sidelines; he’s digging in there. He’s paying for researchers to find out why President Obama would have spent $2 million to not show his birth certificate.”
For the record, we’ll note that there is lots of evidence that Mr. Obama was born in Hawaii and that birthers tend to wave this aside. But right now, we’re more interested in the Trump-Palin mind-meld that appears to be occurring. Don’t you think their political personas would complement each other? They could be the Cagney and Lacey – or the Starsky and Hutch – of the upcoming GOP primary season.
Mr. Trump is doing pretty well among Republican voters at the moment, so he would bring some political appeal into such a partnership. He’s basically running like he’s already a boss, as opposed to some of the other candidates, who by comparison seem like applicants for the job.
Since he promotes himself as a business success and economic maven, Trump might be expected to appeal to economic conservatives. Palin, in contrast, has deep roots among social conservatives and tea party types. Put that together, and you might have a winning coalition.
I know what you’re thinking: How would such a team work? It’s easy. One would simply have to promise to pick the other as his/her VP candidate. Even during the primary season, they could travel the country and campaign together. Just think of it – Donald Trump and Sarah Palin on the same podium, kicking heinie and taking names. That might create an attention vortex so powerful that every political reporter in America would be sucked into it, and coverage of all other candidates would end.
Trump could drag Palin into his “Celebrity Apprentice” series. Underlings might have to prove themselves by tagging along on a moose hunt, say, or serving as a chaperon on Palin’s children’s dates. And Trump could guest on a very special “Sarah Palin’s Alaska” in which he scouts possible casino locations in the frozen northland and maneuvers to keep the fierce Alaska winds off his strands of hair.
Which one would run as a presidential candidate, which would run as a possible VP? We’ll let them solve that problem, as it’s a subject we are loath to touch. However, we will mention one possible creative solution: a co-presidency, in which one is the titular top of the ticket, but promises that the other will serve beside him (or her) as an equal.
Ronald Reagan and Gerald Ford discussed something like this at the 1980 Republican convention. The theory was that the Gipper and the ex-president would make an unbeatable Batman-and-Robin political team. But the whole thing faded away when it turned out Mr. Reagan and his advisers didn’t really want to cede much power, and George H.W. Bush got picked instead for VP.
