Palin vs. Thatcher: No comparison

She might wish to study Thatcher’s disciplined command of arguments, facts and statistics, for instance. By the time Thatcher was elected, she’d enjoyed a 20-year parliamentary career. Her clearly expressed views – clearly expressed, I stress – about every crisis, problem and debate of concern to Britain were a matter of public record. Palin has neither said nor written a line so far that would allow anyone reasonably to conclude that her opinions about economic and foreign policy are as cogent and informed as Thatcher’s. No one (not me, anyway) can argue with her conservative instincts, but to compare her ability to express them with Thatcher’s would be ludicrous…

Thatcher did not wing it. She studied incessantly. But in the end, she had a knack for knowing stuff and for whipping out what she knew when she needed it. If Palin does, she’s kept it well under wraps so far. If she can’t manage to reveal that talent, however, she may well emulate Thatcher’s gift for exploiting the public’s aversion to men who attack women. In fact it’s not clear that she needs any lessons in this.