WASHINGTON – As a president beginning his term with less than half a cabinet and a string of empty offices in the West Wing, Donald Trump may not be thinking much about ambassadors. He isn’t roaming the residence at night worrying about his envoy to Canada. But ever since Bruce Heyman left Ottawa before the inauguration, the position has been empty. It will be for a while.

The way things works here, Heyman’s successor may not arrive until the summer or fall; Heyman himself waited almost six months for the Senate to confirm him in 2014.

With the Democrats dawdling, this new appointment may take even longer. That leaves lots of time to consider who will represent the United States in Ottawa in what may well be the most volatile period in bilateral relations since the Vietnam War.

One familiar name keeps coming up in conversations around both Washington and Ottawa: Sarah Palin.

Spicer, asked now if Palin is being considered to be ambassador to Canada, he did NOT deny it -- just said updates to come later tdy/tmrw — Steve Kopack (@SteveKopack) February 8, 2017

What?!?!? Sarah Palin as US Ambassador to Canada??? pic.twitter.com/Toes7BMyeu — MarcusNapoleon (@marcusnapoleon) February 8, 2017

For Trump, there are reasons for choosing Palin. Trump is a showman. He likes his people to look and speak the part. Palin is not a diplomat by training or instinct, but she is a celebrity who would bring her travelling carnival to Canada.

If the Captain of Chaos wants to disrupt everything – including resetting relations with little ol’ Canada – Palin would be the one to break the china. She has unapologetic views and a lot of swagger.

Palin, you may recall, catapulted to fame in 2008 when John McCain made her his vice-presidential running mate. It was the worst decision of his career. He has never apologized.

A vice-president should do no harm in an election. Mike Pence, a soap salesman, did no harm to Trump. Nor did Tim Kaine, who channelled Howdy-Doody, harm Hillary Clinton. Palin broke the rule: so great was her ignorance, so hilarious her gaffes, she hurt the ticket.

For our Annie Oakley of Alaska, though, it was the gift of a lifetime. When the campaign was over, she resigned as governor and became a brand – giving speeches, turning out books, making her eccentric family, the northern Clampetts, a reality television show.

She represents the descent of politics. We see today a direct line from Palin to Trump. Politically, Trump is Palin’s child.

She knew that when she endorsed him for president before Iowa. Typically she spoke gibberish – no syntax, no message, a kind of slam poetry – but she laid down a marker.

Trump remembered that. When he won, he considered her as secretary of veterans affairs.

Then she criticized his much-vaunted deal in November to keep Carrier and its hundreds of jobs in Indiana. “Crony capitalism!” she trilled. Trump no like.

Yet here she is, as enduring and empty as a tin can in a landfill. Her name – believe it or not – is in the chatter coming out of the Prime Minister’s Office and the State Department.

Would Palin want the job? She would have to give up her lucrative speeches and television appearances, which have helped make her an estimated $12 million US. But her influence is waning; last year, she closed her political action committee.

In Canada, Palin would have to learn to speak one of our official languages. She would have to live in a land of naïfs who favour immigrants, gay marriage, the United Nations and NATO.

Of course, she would be warmly greeted by observers such as the besotted Rex Murphy, who says she is “smart … radiates human warmth … with a personality that could sell corn flakes.”

For Canada, it would be an honour to welcome Ambassador Palin. You betcha! She would remind us, lest we forget, of our new life through the looking glass.

Andrew Cohen , a Canadian journalist and author, is a Fulbright Scholar at the Woodrow Wilson International Center in Washington. Email: andrewzcohen@yahoo.ca