Sarah Palin Is A New Breed Of Public Figure, “As Big As Princess Di”

An extensive feature in today’s New York Times calls Sarah Palin “a new breed of unelected public figure operating in an environment in which politics, news media and celebrity are fused as never before.” By running down her weekly responsibilities and previewing her events calendar for the coming days, the piece paints Palin as an unstoppable national brand and even “as big a celebrity as Princess Di,” according to one Alaskan journalist.

The article draws a contrast between the way Palin operates — often out of her own home through Facebook, Twitter and a soon-to-be built television studio courtesy of Fox News — and the reach of her voice, amplified in columns, emails, press releases and endorsements. And to what end? “[A] presidential run, a de facto role as the leader of the Tea Party movement, a lucrative career as a roving media entity — or all of the above,” according to Times writer Mark Leibovich.

Ms. Palin represents a new breed of unelected public figure operating in an environment in which politics, news media and celebrity are fused as never before. Whether she ever runs for anything else, Ms. Palin has already achieved a status that has become an end in itself: access to an electronic bully pulpit, a staff to guide her, an enormous income and none of the bother or accountability of having to govern or campaign for office.

The piece goes on to detail Palin’s quiet assembling of “the infrastructure of an expanding political operation,” including a stable of “policy counselors,” though the former governor herself declined to comment. She has completely outgrown Alaskan politics, according to the article, leaving her “basically invisible” in her home state, but a giant celebrity “everywhere else.” Which reminds us — isn’t being a celebrity politician a bad thing?

Sarah is Vocal and ready, but for What? [New York Times]