Senator McCain, Sarah Palin Is No Ronald Reagan

Doug Mataconis · · 16 comments

It’s becoming common for defenders of Sarah Palin to try to draw analogies between her and Ronald Reagan, and John McCain picked up that meme himself when he appeared on CNN today:

McCain compared his former running mate, Sarah Palin, to former President Ronald Reagan, noting that some viewed Reagan as divisive too. “I think that anybody who has the visibility that Sarah has is obviously going to have some divisiveness,” McCain said. “I remember that a guy named Ronald Reagan used to be viewed by some as divisive. … I think she had a positive impact on the last election, and I’m proud of her.”

Ronald Reagan was a man of strongly held ideas. Sarah Palin repeats sound bites she writes on her hand. Ronald Reagan served the state of California for two full terms. Sarah Palin quit the job she was elected to in order to pursue a more lucrative career as “author” and Fox News talking head. I grew up on the Reagan Presidency, Ronald Reagan remains a political hero of mine. Senator, Sarah Palin is no Ronald Reagan.