Beauté, la Liberté, et le Patriotisme

From Eric Dondero:

It was inevitable. With the rise of French presidential candidate Marine Le Pen, now 2 points ahead in the polls, the comparisons to Sarah Palin would come.

From ElSpectador.com:

The blonde with blues eyes, is being recognized by the public... support for leaving the European Union, opposition to immigration... this mother of three, separated from her husband, has taken a posture... like Sarah Palin and her Tea Party.

Rue Frontenac Le blogue de Marco Fortier, "Docteur Le Pen et ses remèdes":

Marine Le Pen... is what France is looking for... Sarah Palin and Tea Party friends also put their finger on the problem of worrying about the staggering debt of the United States.Fortunately, representatives of the people as brave Marine Le Pen, Sarah Palin and Rob Ford (the new mayor of Toronto) are there to speak to the "real issues", freed from any connection with the "elite" by the corrupt ruling class power.

They "ruthlessly put the interests of their country before all others"

From Glenn Crumley Time, Global Spin blog "Marine Le Pen And Sarah Palin: Who Is More Extreme?"

similarities exist. Both women and their parties want to seal off borders, halt immigration, and ruthlessly crack down hard on crime—including using capital punishment.

They both want to protect jobs and businesses in their countries from foreign threats; champion a form of hard-edged nationalist exceptionalism that emphatically puts the interests of their own people and country above all others; and show bristling disdain for international organizations. Both also call followers to help return society to supposedly simpler, wholesome, traditional practices and values lost over time to alien influence, political malfeasance, and moral decay.

Meanwhile, both have also proven masterful in using media to spread their political messages and advance their personal political ambitions. And—in a pinch—both women will cite reality-defying “facts” to support their arguments. And though their personal styles differ significantly, both women are smart and wily political animals with excellent instincts they use when laying verbal pile drivers on foes.

To be sure. Significant differences do exist as Crumley later points out. Mostly on economics; Palin is far more of a consistent free market champion, while Le Pen's views are more anti-globalist, anti-free trade.

Prompting Crumley to opine:

Not a program either Palin or the Koch brothers are likely to get behind anytime soon.

And ironically, Le Pen bristles at any comparisons of the two:

“I can not be compared with Madame Palin, and the National Front isn't similar to the Tea Party... The two political systems are very different, and (Palin's) positions reflect that.”

But despite her denials, their personal attractiveness and generally rightwing politics will no doubt spark further comparisons between the two, in the coming year.