Accidental Blogger

Every now and then, I see something going on in American politics, and then pause to think "Haven't I seen a similar scenario, before , only a continent away and 10 years ago?"

Then,regional politics in India:

Jayalalitha: brought in to 'sex up' campaign of an elderly MGR
Regional politician (was Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu state in India) with national ambitions
land scandal in 2000 leading to her removal/resignation
Still a force in regional politics
Actress background

"THE
charges in the first case are that Jaya Publications, in which
Jayalalitha and Sasikala were partners, bought 3.07 acres of land and a
building belonging to the government-owned TANSI Foundry at Guindy in
Chennai at a price much lower than the guidel ine value and gained more
than Rs.3.5 crores in the transaction. The sale took place when
Jayalalitha was Chief Minister (1991-1996). Jayalalitha "abused her
official position at every stage" in the property deal although no
public interest was involved, the charge-sheet said. Since Jayalalitha
was Chief Minister when she bought the property, she attracted the
provisions of the PCA."

Now, Fourth of July Fireworks of a different sort:

Sarah Palin: brought in to 'sex up' campaign of  an elderly McCain
Regional politician with national ambitions
House scandal (RUMOR ALERT – this may or may not be the reason for her precipitated resignation):

"A list of subcontractors on the job, obtained by the Voice,
includes many with Palin ties. One was Spenard Builders Supply, the
state’s leading supplier of wood, floor, roof, and other
“pre-engineered components.” In addition to being a sponsor of Todd
Palin’s snow-machine team that has earned tens of thousands for the
Palin family, Spenard hired Sarah Palin to do a statewide television
commercial in 2004. When the Palins began building a new family home
off Lake Lucille in 2002—at the same time that Palin was running for
lieutenant governor and in her final months as mayor—Spenard supplied
the materials, according to Antoine Bricks, who works in its Wasilla
office. Spenard actually filed a notice “of its right to assert a lien”
on the deed for the Palin property after contracting for labor and
materials for the site. Spenard’s name has popped up in the trial of
Senator Stevens—it worked on the house that is at the center of the
VECO scandal as well.

Todd Palin told Fox News that he built the two-story,
3,450-square-foot, four-bedroom, four-bath, wood house himself, with
the help of contractors he described as “buddies.” As mayor, Sarah
Palin blocked an effort to require the filing of building permits in
the wide-open city, and there is no public record of who the “buddies”
were. The house was built very near the complex, on a site whose city
purchase led to years of unsuccessful litigation and, now, $1.3 million
in additional costs, with a law firm that’s also donated to Palin
collecting costly fees from the city."

Gov of AK
Still a force in politics (?)
Beauty pageant/TV background

Sarah Palin's beyond-bizarre resignation announcement:

"My choice is to take a stand and effect change – not hit our heads against the wall and watch valuable state time and money, millions of your dollars, go down the drain in this new environment. Rather, we know we can effect positive change outside government at this moment in time, on another scale, and actually make a difference for our priorities – and so we will, for Alaskans and for Americans."

There the similarity stops for now. It's anybody's guess as to whether Palin manages to stage a revival (Jayalalitha did manage it, after all). That's highly dependent on the quotient of true Palin-believers to those who will write her off after her shaky and scared TV performance.

The confounding factors are many. Jayalalitha had little to no family to worry about, while Palin has her large brood of children in dire need of attention. Jayalalitha was able to still cling to the aura of the 'generous mother' while it might be harder for Palin to do so.

As Palin famously states in her speech : "Only dead fish go with the flow." The question remains as to whether she is a dead fish or a live one.