Margaret Thatcher To Sarah Palin: Don’t Bother Dropping By When You’re In Town

It doesn’t look like Sarah Palin is going to get that sought-after audience with Margaret Thatcher when she visits England:

Sarah Palin wants to show to the Republican right that she is the true keeper of the Ronald Reagan flame by meeting the late president’s closest ally on the world stage.

A meeting with Margaret Thatcher in the centenary year of Reagan’s birth would be the perfect way of launching her bid for the Republican nomination for the 2012 US presidential election.

This is what Palin told Christina Lamb in the Sunday Times:

I am going to Sudan in July and hope to stop in England on the way. I am just hoping Mrs Thatcher is well enough to see me as I so admire her.

It appears that the former prime minister has no intention of meeting the darling of the Tea Party movement. Andy McSmith reported in the Independent this morning that Palin is likely to be “thwarted” on the grounds that Thatcher, 86, rarely makes public appearances.

It would appear that the reasons go deeper than Thatcher’s frail health. Her allies believe that Palin is a frivolous figure who is unworthy of an audience with the Iron Lady. This is what one ally tells me:

Lady Thatcher will not be seeing Sarah Palin. That would be belittling for Margaret. Sarah Palin is nuts.

Thatcher will show the level she punches at when she attends the unveiling of a statue of Ronald Reagan outside the US embassy in Grosvenor Square on Independence day on 4 July.

I knew there was a reason I always liked the Iron Lady. More seriously, Thatcher is largely retired and  still ailing from the strokes she suffered several years ago, it’s perfectly understandable why she wouldn’t want to have her image, and her reptuation, injected into American politics and subjected to the inevitable Palin media circus.

H/T: Professor Bainbridge

Update 6/14/2011: Thatcher’s office has denied this report.

FILED UNDER: US Politics, , , , ,
Doug Mataconis
About Doug Mataconis
Doug Mataconis held a B.A. in Political Science from Rutgers University and J.D. from George Mason University School of Law. He joined the staff of OTB in May 2010 and contributed a staggering 16,483 posts before his retirement in January 2020. He passed far too young in July 2021.

Comments

  1. Vast Variety says:

    My impression of Thatcher just improved a hundred fold.

  2. Paul L. says:

    Thatcher was never ridiculed and hated like Palin

    From the Young Ones
    Rick: “Neil, the bathroom’s free! Unlike the country under the Thatcherite junta.”

    http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/33327026/ns/msnbc_tv-countdown_with_keith_olbermann/t/countdown-keith-olbermann-wednesday-october/
    CLEESE: Maggie Thatcher’s foreign policy adviser, Brett Wood (ph) — he’s a friend. And I do know that at one point, Maggie Thatcher had a speech to make at the Conservative Party Conference. And she wanted to say that the third party, the liberal Democrats, were dead. So they rewrote for her the Dead Parrot Sketch. Yes. And, of course, she didn’t think it was the slightest bit funny. She didn’t even kind of realize it was comedy material. It could have been Mongolian to her. Then they had to teach her how to say, how to stress things, the cadences, and where to take the pauses.

    And they really coached her, because when she did it, it was absolutely terrible, because when you have someone with no sense of humor at all, they just can’t do it. So it did not-did not register very well.

  3. James Joyner says:

    This Palin woman sure knows how to take over a blog.

  4. An Interested Party says:

    This Palin woman sure knows how to take over a blog.

    Better a blog than the country…

  5. William Teach says:

    So, let me get this straight: you think the while Anthony Weiner issue is silly, a waste of time, and a strange obsession as evidenced by at least one earlier tweet and a current post, yet, you ridicule Palin. Weiner has been involved in, at the least, impropriety. Palin hasn’t. Weiner may have improperly used government resources, and might even be guilty of sexting an underage girl, which is a felony. Palin’s done what wrong? I guess she’s guilty of being Palin, as PDS rears it’s ugly head. It’s like watching liberals obsess over Bush.

    Oh, wait, I see Steve is still captivated by Palin and Paul Revere. Obviously, this is all souch more important than a sitting federal Congressman involved in malfeasance

  6. narciso says:

    No actual source in that story, the first tip off, Second you don’t remember all the sketches on
    Python, and later on Spitting Image. They we-wrote the Dead Parrot Sketch for the ‘Secret
    Policemen’s Ball’ in 1981, as I recall. with a much more curt ending, crediting how things had changed under Thatcher.

  7. James Joyner says:

    @William Teach: I think this is newsworthy but, like a lot of other interesting but not all that important stories, gets too much attention. The reason the Paul Revere story, like this one, won’t go away is because the principals denied the truth and their fans defended them, setting off a long series of back-and-forths.

    Does Palin get too much attention here and elsewhere? Probably. Is what Weiner did more egregious than any of Palin’s various gaffes? You betcha. But she’s more important than he is.

    She is taken to be a serious candidate for president of the United States and was introduced to the American people as a vice presidential nominee who would have, had McCain been elected, one heartbeat away from the presidency. Weiner, by contrast, is 1/435th of one House of a two house legislature in a three branch federal system with 50 states.

  8. Neil Hudelson says:

    Isn’t Thatcher mostly senile now? I remember reading an interview with her daughter (I think), and her explaining how much of her days she is in a state of confusion.

    My grandmother is also 86 and is in a very similar condition. When she is lucid, she’s extremely sharp, but shies away from being in public too much because she knows her limitations. Her friends and family know that she prefers it this way and don’t try to visit her in ways that would aggravate her.

    I would think Palin’s team would take the same approach.

  9. Smooth Jazz says:

    “It doesn’t look like Sarah Palin is going to get that sought-after audience with Margaret Thatcher when she visits England:”

    Assuming this is true (And there’s no way to verify since we haven’t heard from Lady Thatcher herself), why do you think this is relevant and deserves your 100,000th post on Palin this year??? How come you didn’t make a post about Lech Walesa snubbing Obama?? I guess Liberals like Obama get a pass when they are snubbed, but Gov Palin gets another post for all your minions and far left whack jobs who comment here attack her.

    You better hope her movie flops later this year, otherwise I think your head will explode. Liberals at CBS, ABC & Huff Post wrote some great reviews on the movie, primarily her numerous accomplishments during her 2 years in office, so you better hope she doesn’t catch on. Remember what Dr Dean said: Anyone who wins the Repub nomination will likely have shown enough gravitas to be palatable to a lot of independents who likely wouldn’t support that person today. Winning (ie Winning the Repub nomination) has a way of creating a dynamic of its own and changing minds.

  10. bk says:

    I see that the online Palin goons are out in force this evening.

  11. jukeboxgrad says:

    William:

    Weiner has been involved in, at the least, impropriety. Palin hasn’t.

    Some people (like me) still have the quaint idea that lying is a form of impropriety (and lying, to his wife and to the public, is also the essential feature of Weiner’s impropriety). And Palin has done plenty of lying (link, link, link), and about things that strike me as more important than someone’s sex life.

  12. Alex Knapp says:

    Smooth Jazz,

    “How come you didn’t make a post about Lech Walesa snubbing Obama?”

    Because it was a non-story. Walesa apologized for not being able to meet Obama because he had a prior engagement in his schedule.

    “I believe one day I will meet with Obama, but not this time,” Walesa said, adding he wished the US president “very well, but sometimes things just don’t work out.”

    […]

    Walesa said that he welcomed Obama’s visit.

    “He bears hope for Poland, Europe and the world,” he told AFP.

    Oh, SNAP!

  13. narciso says:

    Sure, why would Walesa, have a problem, who has ‘thrown Poland under the bus, to curry favor with their long term foe, Russia, Now sourcing in this story, would automatically make it suspect.

  14. anjin-san says:

    Why would a person of Thatcher’s status want to meet a publicity grubbing celebrity who bailed halfway through the only significant political job she ever held? I have a pretty good idea of what Thatcher thinks about quitters.

  15. jwest says:

    I’m still waiting for the link that shows that Margaret Thatcher or anyone even vaguely associated with her said anything resembling the headline or the offending quote listed in the article.

    If this can’t be produced, Doug’s headline and article should be considered by all as just another in a series of misrepresentations by a Palin hater.

  16. Wiley Stoner says:

    Doug, were you ignored by pretty women and now take it out on Palin? What is your problem?

  17. Cindy says:

    Congrats to the Thatcher team on behalf of all Americans! Palin was hated as Alaska’s governor even though and Alaskans were relieved when she resigned to run for Vice-President.

  18. Jay Tea says:
  19. jukeboxgrad says:

    Two small problems. First, Hoft lacks credibility (example), so there’s no particular reason to treat what he posted as authentic.

    Second, the (alleged) email starts by saying this: “I have no inside knowledge of this business to offer.” In other words, Collins is not claiming to know that the quote that was published is not authentic. He’s just expressing his opinion that Thatcher would never have “approved an ‘ally’ who used the description.” Trouble is, the logic of that statement requires a belief in time travel, because the person “who used the description” became an “ally” of Thatcher (i.e., was “approved” by her) prior to the time that he “used the description.” No one has claimed that the person made that statement prior to knowing Thatcher, and then was later “approved” by her even though he made the statement.

    So what we have here is someone close to Thatcher calling Palin “nuts,” and (if the email is authentic) someone else with some kind of connection to Thatcher expressing his opinion that Thatcher wouldn’t like that statement. That opinion doesn’t prove the statement isn’t authentic, especially because the same person spoke again:

    Margaret will not be meeting Sarah Palin. If necessary we will make sure that Margaret has an off day when Palin is in London.

    This person is taking a firm position: no meeting. And unlike Collins, this person obviously has knowledge and authority regarding Thatcher’s schedule (i.e., “inside knowledge of this business”). Collins admitted he is “not in a position to make any kind of statement on Lady Thatcher’s behalf.” The other statements should be treated as authentic unless they are contradicted by someone who is “in a position to make any kind of statement on Lady Thatcher’s behalf.”

    So your “whoops” is uncalled for. This is when you get to say “whoops:” when Thatcher meets with Palin.

  20. anon says:

    Cindy –
    “even though and Alaskans were relieved when she resigned to run for Vice-President.”

    She did not resign to run for Vice-President you halfwit. Not sure how you think you can get away with speaking for Alaskans when you don’t even know this simple fact.

  21. Jim Treacher says:

    I get to say “whoops” whenever I want.

    Whoops.

  22. bains says:

    What we have here is yet another example of the left buying into a tale because it fits the caricature they have created. A quintessential case of “oh, OK, so it is fake, but it is also accurate!”

    And much like Dan Rather, to most outside this festering echo chamber, people question “if you admit it is fake, how can you honestly state it is still accurate?” The unstated question is: “Given all the crap you have tried to peddle, why should I take anything you say seriously?”

    From what used to be a fairly honest libertarian/center right site, OTB has seemingly subsided into a dimly lit swamp of moonbats enveloped in comfortable symphony of their own drone. (Granted, you’ve got a ways to go before you sink to the depths of John Cole’s eponymous Balloon Juice.)

  23. jukeboxgrad says:

    A quintessential case of “oh, OK, so it is fake, but it is also accurate!”

    A quintessential case of inventing your own facts. No one has demonstrated that anything is “fake.” Hoft quoting Collins expressing an opinion doesn’t prove that something is “fake.” Collins admitted “I have no inside knowledge.”

  24. bains says:

    From the Telegraph

    I have spoken to Lady Thatcher’s Private Office regarding the story, and they confirm that the attack on Sarah Palin definitely did not come from her office, and in no way reflects her views. As a former aide to Margaret Thatcher myself, I can attest that this kind of thinking is entirely alien to her, and that such remarks would never be made by her office.

    No one has demonstrated that anything is “fake.”

    And yet, no source has come forward and stated that the leftwing Guardian gave an accurate quote. Until then, I’m calling BS on a story that fits your, and so many others here, prejudices (and hence that convenient caricature you create); so much so, that instead of asking those questions, you double down. You will, of course, believe your own drone choir – that has worked so well for Dan Rathers, John Edwards, and Tony Weiner, just to name a few…

  25. jukeboxgrad says:

    I have spoken to Lady Thatcher’s Private Office regarding the story, and they confirm that the attack on Sarah Palin definitely did not come from her office

    If the person in charge of “Lady Thatcher’s Private Office” says that the original report is wrong, then there’s no reason for them to send that message indirectly and anonymously, via Gardiner. They could and would do so directly, on the record. So let me know when they do that. And let me know when Thatcher agrees to meet Palin.

    Yes, Thatcher doesn’t see a lot of people, but no one has claimed that she sees no one. And the fact remains that Palin doesn’t make the cut. When this changes, let me know.

  26. bains says:

    And the fact remains that Palin doesn’t make the cut. When this changes, let me know.

    Love your changing the goal-posts there. What had the left-o-sphere so hyperventilating at first was that supposedly Thacher refused claiming that Palin is “nuts” (Doug, that includes you) .

    Radically redefining the narrative work well in the fever-swamp where all creatures croak your beloved tomes.

  27. jukeboxgrad says:

    What had the left-o-sphere so hyperventilating at first was that supposedly Thacher refused claiming that Palin is “nuts”

    That’s because someone close to Thatcher said that Palin is nuts.

    Love your changing the goal-posts there.

    Nobody’s “changing the goal-posts.” I’m just pointing that if Thatcher actually likes Palin, there’s going to be one really good way to know: one way or another, sooner or later, there will be a meeting. Or, absent a meeting, an official statement from Thatcher or from a named person who officially represents her. Until we see something like that, it’s reasonable to treat the original report as credible.

  28. bains says:

    Nobody’s “changing the goal-posts.” I’m just pointing that if Thatcher actually likes Palin, there’s going to be one really good way to know: one way or another, sooner or later, there will be a meeting. Or, absent a meeting, an official statement from Thatcher or from a named person who officially represents her. Until we see something like that, it’s reasonable to treat the original report as credible.

    This is your site James, this is what your encourage Doug. Are the page views worth this “quality”?

  29. jukeboxgrad says:

    bains, when you get done banging your shoe on the table, maybe you can explain why we haven’t heard directly from “Lady Thatcher’s Private Office,” if it’s actually the case that their views have been misrepresented.