Liz Sidoti: In age of celebrity, Sarah Palin really could be a contender for President

FORMER Republican vice-presidential candidate Sarah Palin lacks many of the traits of a typical American presidential candidate. She is unconventional, unpredictable and, according to some reports, unprepared.

What she has, though, is potent: an enormous dose of celebrity, an ability to captivate America with witty one-line zingers and, above all, a constantly developing storyline tailor-made for a drama-hungry culture of continuous media and instantaneous Twitter updates.

Half a century ago, historian Daniel J Boorstin described a celebrity as "a person who is known for his well-knownness". Some would dismiss Palin that way, but she has shown staying power. A year and a half after her vice-presidential nomination and a year before the next presidential race begins in earnest, she spoke and acted like a national political figure at a recent convention of an ad hoc group of fiscal conservatives called the Tea Party.

But could she become a serious contender for US president?

At a time in the United States when the distance between obscurity and celebrity is shrinking, the journey between celebrity and the White House may be growing shorter as well. That is why, no matter how unconventional, Palin cannot be counted out as a credible 2012 competitor, even if it is difficult to see her path to the presidency.

At a time when the Republicans lack a leader, Palin occupies a unique space in the political discourse of a society that feeds on fame. And as long as she is coy about her future, she will remain a political force simply because people will not stop paying attention.

So is it Sarah Palin, political celebrity? Or Sarah Palin, serious contender?

"She could be both, but we just don't know yet," said Eric Dezenhall, an image consultant who has worked with everyone from Hollywood stars to business moguls. "These days, the political leaders who make it have both the celebrity and they have the capacity to lead."

So is the US moving towards an era when it picks interesting figures over people with traditional political careers and governing skills?

If so, it has been a long time coming. The line between celebrity and politician has been blurring for more than a generation.

B-movie actor Ronald Reagan parlayed his fame into the California governor's mansion, then the presidency. And think Minnesota: Its voters sent pro wrestler Jesse Ventura to the governor's office and Saturday Night Live comedian Al Franken to the US Senate.

However, the public's attention span, though sometimes short, can be intense, making the future less certain for celebrities who aspire to political office without established, quantifiable skills.

"We have democratised celebrity," said Darrell West, co-author of Celebrity Politics. "And it's a very personal era in which we live. We want to know everything about everyone."

Political leaders In such an environment, he says, "have the potential to be celebrities, but not every celebrity has the potential to be a political leader".

That is where Palin comes in. She finds herself on the cusp of trying to figure out which mould she fits.

She was largely unknown nationally when John McCain plucked her from Alaska and turned her into an overnight sensation.

Since the Republican ticket lost, she has become a $100,000 attraction on the speaking circuit and a best-selling author with her memoir. She and her family have been the constant subjects of supermarket tabloids, most notably over her feud with her grandchild's father. She has signed on as a Fox News analyst and has fired broadsides against Barack Obama and his fellow Democrats on Facebook.

She has also tapped into anti-establishment, populist anger brewing in the right wing of the Republican Party over a perceived erosion of individual freedoms and loss of conservative principles.

But her fans, while passionate, are a sliver of the diverse coalition of Republicans she would need to claim the party's nomination, let alone a general election against a popular incumbent Democrat who is a major celebrity in his own right. And her political standing, once strong, has deteriorated.

A recent poll found more than half the people surveyed viewed her unfavourably, while only a third viewed her favourably. Perhaps even worse: More than 70 per cent of people, including a majority of Republicans, saw her as unqualified to be president.

Which comes back to the original question. Can Palin the celebrity become Palin the contender by turning her ideological fans into a true political base? Will she even try?

The media and the public will pay attention to every move she makes between now and when she makes a decision.

Liz Sidoti has covered national politics for the Associated Press since 2003