TIME TO PUT AWAY CHILDISH THINGS?

Tragedy marks turning point for Palin (JONATHAN MARTIN, 1/10/11, Politico)

Part of Palin’s quandary is rooted in the unique spot she occupies. Since her resignation from the governorship in the summer of 2009, Palin has played a role that is part talk-show personality and part political figure. It’s a positioning that has served her well, creating personal wealth and celebrity appeal while energizing her core supporters.

But now, for the first time, Palin is being forced to choose between the public and private spheres she operates in. If she has any intentions of running for the presidency, she must begin to appeal to the country’s broad political center. And that task just got harder in the wake of Tucson.

The other option is to simply remain in the private sector where she can continue to issue the envelope-pushing jeremiads and employ the overheated rhetoric that appeals to her loyal base, sells her books, draws TV viewers and makes her irresistible to a sound byte-hungry media.

Either way, she’ll have to show her hand, signaling whether she wants to be Ronald Reagan or Rush Limbaugh.

Demonstrating some personal insight and growth and maturing in public would be a political boon for her, if she's still interested in politics, rather than entertainment.

Posted by Orrin Judd at January 10, 2011 7:34 AM