You Betcha Palin’s Endorsement Matters

Rick Klein: “The Palin-Trump alliance marks the ultimate triumph of personality over policy in the Republican Party – at least for this very big campaign moment. Sarah Palin was Donald Trump before Trump took to politics, and Tuesday night’s endorsement event (‘no more pussy-footing around’; ‘drill, baby, drill’) showed she still may have more catch-phrases than him. In backing Trump, Palin is putting her considerable pull among tea partiers and other grassroots conservatives to the test. She’s signaling to them that ideology matters less than attitude – a proposition she tested, intentionally or not, when she joined John McCain’s ticket in 2008. That was as intense a national roller-coaster as we’ve witnessed in politics, so it’s fair to expect dips and turns along the way.”

“It’s also fair to note that Palin is unlikely to motivate many possible Trump voters in Iowa who weren’t already on board. But in its timing and its implications, with Ted Cruz having just started to break through by questioning Trump’s conservative credentials, you betcha this matters for Iowa and beyond. Trump has a figure who can be described as Trump-like to campaign on his behalf – one famously boosted to national prominence by none other than John McCain. The revolving door of politics and reality TV has opened to a new pairing at the center of the presidential race.”