If Romney Wins He Could Do A "Huntsman" On Palin;Being A Patriot She Might Accept.

Here's Sarah Palin on Brian Kilmeade's program addressing the question as to whether she would accept the position of Secretary of Energy in a Romney administration. This is of course a position she would be eminently able to manage,as she rightly sets out in her answer;

BK – (on being asked to serve as Energy Secretary in a Romney Admin)

SP – You know I don’t see that happening, the offer coming, uh, from Governor Romney. He’s got an amazing list of people who he can choose from but energy is my baby because I understand it and having been Commissioner if the O&G Commission in AK and the nation’s Chairman of the Interstate O&G Compact Commission I have good experience in energy and I know what it takes to get our country on that path to energy independence and that’s why, you know, I get pretty opinionated when I'm watching  what Obama and Biden do to, um, for, opportunities for energy independence.

Apart from Palin's natural modesty she is, perhaps, also correct in surmising that the offer might not come as key Romney personnel have no love for Palin and she has,as of now, not given a "side by side" endorsement for him. Of course there is also the matter of her not being given a proper speaking slot offer for the convention.

However there is another matter, a very political one, which may make an offer a smart move by Romney. That would be to remove, by attaching her to the administration, Palin as a possible challenger to Romney in

the 2016 primaries if the economy collapses under his administration. 

That is no small possibility or fantasy as any fair minded individual would surely agree. The world is in a parlous financial state with endless resort to the printing press whilst parts of Europe are in a massive unemployment depression-anything can happen.

Just like Hoover did not cause the Great Depression but got the blame for it ("Hooverville" unemployment encampments etc) so would Romney if he was unable to deal with a massive crash.

Unlike Hoover, who was given a second term election chance it would be unlikely that Romney woudl go unchallenged in the primaries. Given this scenario, or one approaching it, who would be more qualified to lead the challenge than the ultimate "rogue" non-Washington, outsider person of the people than Sarah Palin?

The only sure way to prevent such a challenge would be for Palin to be tied to the administration with a high profile position. Certainly she could resign to mount a primary challenge but then she would be attacked as a serial "quitter" and turncoat against the person who appointed her. No, once appointed she woudl be stuck with the administration, for better or worse and if it were worse any future prospects of running would be negated.

Of course, if the Romney administration solved the economic problems, unemployment dropped to low levels, Iran was neutralized, whilst Palin solved America's energy problems she would have every chance for the succession eight years later-being still young  But from that scenario the only part with a reasonable chance of happening is the Palin energy one but, who knows, these are the chances politicians take.

The precedent for this "neutralizing" is very obvious. President Obama, looking at his re-election chances and the same unknown economic future considered who might be the most dangerous Republican  candidate he might face in 2012. Jon Huntsman had an outstanding reputation probity, looked good, had massive financial resources and was seen by Independents  and even the far leftists at "Kos" as a moderate, and thus a danger to them if he got the nomination.

President Obama offered him the Ambassadorship to China, a role no one could criticize given Huntsman's obvious qualifications, not least that he spoke Chinese, which he accepted out of duty no doubt. This immediately sealed his fate as prospective Republican candidate. He garnered no support from the conservative element, and was openly derided as an Obama lackey by some. Running an abysmal campaign didn't help matters either, but there could be no doubt, surely, that if Huntsman had not become an Obama administration man that he would have done better as a candidate. So far has he fallen that he has left the GOP and I would be confident that, sooner or later, he will emerge as a Dem.

Unfortunately, in my opinion, Palin's "America First" patriotism would make it extremely difficult for her to turn down an offer from a President Romney  and especially for a post where she is utterly confident she could make a major difference to the lives of ordinary Americans. Her turning such an offer down would also open her to criticism that she has made much noise about the need to do something radical about energy and, when given the chance to do so she turned it down.

If the offer came, and Palin accepted it, as I suspect she would for those reasons, then the best scenario would be that she does well in a successful Romney administration. Offers can be turned down with honor, witness New Hampshire Congressman Judd Greg  who turned down the Commerce Secretary offer from President  Obama. But he, unlike Palin, did not have the history of energy reform campaigning that she has.

It may be that Palin is not only a smart politician but she may have that special quality that sets politicians apart-luck. If, because of bad feelings from the Romney camp she is passed over for the role, and the administration subsequently craters, she would be in the best possible position to mount a credible primary challenge. These are the vagaries of politics and life-we'll see how it plays out and if, given the chance, Romney plays it smart as Obama did.

Here is the entire interview;