Sarah Palin and profit-motive politics
Alyssa Battistoni:
The logic — and risks — of faking a presidential campaign to build brand value
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Usually, the money-politics relationship works the other way. Mitt Romney is a classic case of a wealthy wannabe contender who’s used the considerable funds at his disposal to buy name recognition. But what Palin and Trump have figured out is that high profiles can generate money rather than the reverse. Of course, it’s nothing new for politicians to cash in on their reputations after leaving office; hefty book advances and cushy jobs as consultants are pretty standard. But not many politicians have the celebrity — or the audacity — to use their political career as an extremely lucrative piece of performance art.
salon.com