Head And Heart: Quigley Weighs In

We have already commented (here) on Matt Lewis' recent Politics Daily opinion piece on the head-and-heart battle for leadership of the GOP which could likely end up being a showdown between Mittt Romney and Sarah Palin.

Bernie Quigley weighs in with an op-ed on The Hill's Pundits Blog:

"Sarah Palin will appear on the 'Oprah' show on Nov. 16, a day before the publication of her book, Going Rogue: An American Life. This is significant because Oprah is a threshold. Appearing on her show is a 'rite of entry' for anyone and everything opening to the mainstream of American culture. And standing in line at the grocery store yesterday, I couldn’t help but notice that David Letterman, looking plaintive and adrift, had made the tabloids. This, a 'rite of exit.' Mainstream is coming out of Palin Denial."

Comparing the titles of Romney's and Sarah's books, Quigley opines:

Romney’s title [No Apology: The Case for American Greatness] suggests a full endorsement of the Bush II paradigm without a moment’s introspection. It looks to the past to continue the past. It would be what he is good at, but I think it is off the mark and most Americans are getting beyond it and ready for a new turning. Going Rogue, however, suggests a new direction, a new adventure, something just ahead there in the great unknown. It is a very good title and speaks in essence to the frontier spirit of those who venture beyond the Hudson River or the Beltway. Rugged individualism; going alone — Emerson and Goldwater — is suggested. It opens to the future. As was said here at the very first, Palin and family suggest a new era ahead; a new century which awakens the free spirit of the American heartland much as Andrew Jackson did in the mid-1800s.

The full Bernie Quigley post, as it appears on The Hill's blog, is cross-posted at Quigley, his personal website.

- JP