COMMENTARY | According to CNN, Sarah Palin might possibly be on Newt Gingrich's short list for vice president if he becomes slated to be the 2012 Republican nominee for president.
The former governor of Alaska, Palin was the 2008 Republican vice presidential nominee, running on the GOP ticket with Arizona Sen. John McCain. Having resigned from her gubernatorial post in 2009, reports The Guardian, Palin has since been a political commentator and analyst. She became a Fox News contributor in 2010, reports the news network.
Palin is a controversial figure. The former pageant girl and small-town mayor has been loved and loathed by hordes of Americans both during and after the 2008 presidential election, where she was frequently perceived as gaffe-prone. She has remained in the spotlight as a result of best-selling books and recent controversies surrounding her daughter Bristol and Bristol's ex-fiance Levi Johnston.
With Palin's numerous critics deriding her as a political lightweight and a shameless fame-seeker, why would former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich, himself a prime target for critics, dare make any move that might suggest her as his vice president? Is Gingrich a glutton for punishment?
With mere days left until the South Carolina primary, perhaps Gingrich is following the old adage that any publicity is good publicity. He must feel that grabbing headlines, even if for something rather outrageous, beats risking a fade into obscurity.
Or, perhaps, he is looking to goad his fellow Republican candidates into taking potshots at him and Palin. While Gingrich can then play the mature, non-mudslinging candidate, he can let Palin, who is under no such pressure to conform to a pleasant image, leap into the fray with teeth bared. Palin can unleash all the attacks on Mitt Romney, Rick Santorum, Ron Paul, and Rick Perry that she wishes, battering Gingrich's opponents while the former Representative from Georgia keeps his hands clean.
On the whole, that makes Gingrich's actions seem rather canny: He keeps the media focused on himself while creating an alliance with someone who could be an invaluable offensive asset. Will the other Republican candidates for president begin cozying up to more outspoken conservative politicians and figureheads? There are no shortage of high-volume conservative pundits to choose from!
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