Reagan 100th B-Day: Palin Takes Bull by the Horns

Yes, I too was taking a break from the ex-Gov.

I do think that all this “”Ronnie @ 100″ hoopla, though, is an occasion for some curious (or should I say, antic) visual politics. Take this photo, for instance. Besides the wonderful sarcasm lent by the wall-mounted hunting trophy (and the fact Reagan looks like he’s riding that man’s head), the fact that Sarah Palin and Ronald Reagan line up on the same vector — Sarah having swooped into Santa Barbara to host some 100th birthday reception at some place sorta near the Reagan library called the Reagan Ranch Center — shows how much she’s forcing the association.

There’s more to the picture, though. The teeth-bared Sarah teamed with the woman on the left with the cold stare makes Palin, in the forced comparison with the Gipper (the only other politician who could have pulled off his own nature show), seem just the opposite of genial.

Full slideshow: Sarah Palin Hosts Reagan Ranch Banquet In Honor Of Reagan’s 100th Birthday.

(photo: Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images. caption: Sarah Palin, the former former vice presidential candidate and Alaska governor, greets guests after speaking at the Reagan 100 Opening Reception and Dinner in honor of what would have been the 40th president’s 100th birthday hosted by the Young Americans Foundation at the Reagan Ranch Center on February 4, 2011 in Santa Barbara, California.)