Palin versus Romney

The GOP is ambling towards the start of the 2012 nominations race. Two probable candidates are busy pitching their media tents. Sarah Palin is on a coast to coast tour, flogging her latest book; she has also been cheering on her daughter on Dancing with the Stars and she recently gutted a halibut on her Alaskan reality TV show. It’s all action and personality from the Mamma Grissly. By contrast, the cerebral Mitt Romney has agreed to appear on…Jay Leno’s Tonight Show.

Leno makes Parky look almost vital. As one Democrat strategist observed: “On the hipness scale, this is far from Bristol Palin on ‘Dancing with the Stars.’ It’s more like Richard Nixon on ‘Laugh In’.” The Boston Herald asks what Romney can do to counter Sarah Palin’s celebrity. ‘Nothing’ seems to be the general consensus. But Romney can’t be forgotten amid the Palin furore; so, chatting about cars and chicks with Leno it is.

Romney’s supporters are convinced that his qualities will effervesce as the race turns from celebrity to policy, while this may be the high tide for Palin. Could Palin match Romney’s grasp of the complex economic issues that will determine the election? Not on her sweet life. Romney plans to fight star power with brain power. Whether Romney’s brain will prevail is another matter.