Sarah Palin and Spiro Agnew: Strange VP Coincidences

It's Watergate, Troopergate, and Deja Vu All Over Again for the Republicans

You have all seen the emails about the amazing coincidences between the assassinations of presidents Abraham Lincoln and John F. Kennedy. But did you know there are equally amazing coincidences between the Vice Presidential candidacies of Sarah Palin and Spiro Agnew? When Nixon announced his choice of veep, many of the delegates and media said, "Spiro who?" When McCain announced his choice of veep, many of the delegates and media said, "Sarah who?"

The coincidences run deeper than that, eerily deeper. As Lance Morrow of Time magazine said after Agnew's death "In Nixon's calculus, Agnew was a safe-bet border-state novice with no heavy baggage and a Greek-immigrant father, which would help with the ethnic vote." As far too many political columnists and late-night comics to name have said, in John McCain's calculus, Palin is supposed to be a safe-bet border-state novice with no heavy baggage and a pair of X chromosomes, which will help with the female vote. Tricky Dick Nixon lost his bet, and Sarah's baggage has inconveniently held more dirty laundry than expected.

Agnew's designated role in the 1968 campaign and as VP was as attack dog, attracting support from conservative Republicans by making flamboyant alliterative attacks on the nattering nabobs of negativism while Nixon pretended to be moderate in a political version of "Good Cop, Bad Cop". Palin calls herself a pitbull in lipstick and her role in the campaign appearances so far is to warm up the audience by making derogatory comments about Obama until McCain takes over with his "I'm not an Washington insider, I just hung out with them for 26 years" speech.

Agnew ran for governor as a reformer and Republican outsider. Palin ran for governor as a reformer and Republican outsider. Agnew was only in his second term as governor of Maryland when he was tapped by Nixon's magic wand. Palin was only in her second year as governor of Alaska when the wand whapped her. How weird is that?