is Palin doing a Lalu?

Record Breaking 73 Million tuned-in to watch Palin (and surely not Biden!) as it eclipsed the viewership of Obama-McCain debate few days earlier. I am sure all viewers were happy with their decision the moment Palin greeted Biden – “Nice to meet you. Hey, can I call you Joe?”. She was now an instant-star. Palin surely knows how to use populism as biggest tool for election manipulation.

Populism works, helps any sort of campaign, always. And Sarah Palin knows that very well. Usually when intellectuals are dominating the stage, it takes a commoner to break the monotony, grab quick headlines with all the un-usual and un-expected punch lines thrown at so-called wise, politically-correct and polished politicians. The likes of Biden and Obama when faced with such layman's vocabulary fail bitterly at the first instance. Then having to climb down many a political ladder to be able to respond successfully. For Palin syntax doesn’t matter but magnetism does.

Drawing a parallel in India, we have our very own Lalu Prasad Yadav who uses populism on a daily basis. He always takes head-on some of the classy interviewers (Likes of Thapar and Prabhu Chawla) and they are simply not-prepared. Once when Lalu was questioned on his strategy to manage the Indian Railways he replied - "My mother always told me not to handle a buffalo by its tail, but always catch it by its horns. And I have used that lesson in everything in my life, including the Railways " ;There was silence for few moments till everyone else gathered some sense and in fact the only option left was to - Change the Topic.

It always pays to be pragmatic. People and the masses immediately relate to you, think of you as one of them. They do not have to wait for journos and columnists to translate the otherwise politically-correct statements of political orators into five different sets of interpretations and let the individual choose the most acceptable ones.

Palin is showing hence, very similar streaks of what Lalu has been demonstrating over his entire past political career in India. Initially lot was written about her blunders on foreign policy (i.e. famous one being Alaska’s proximity to Russia and Canada as case of her experience in that subject), however for the vast majority of school drop-outs politically ignorant americos it may be a case of an answer that had in their heart.

Her remarks, her views, her out-of-box methods of talking/greeting puts the opposite person ten steps back and in return she comes out as a winner as she enjoys every moment of the cameras and limelight that she deserves. She enjoys the surprised-look of her opponents and smiles all the way to her audience.

Palin may not win this time; but going from what Lalu once said - “I do not rule out the possibility of being prime minister of India one day, but there is still time.” , we may find her as the next Presidential candidate and in fact would be a good Republican answer if the democrats field Hillary the next time round.