Is Sarah Palin the next Ronald Reagan?

Presidential scholar Dr. Charles W. Dunn, dean of the School of Government at Regent University in Virginia, has an interesting op-ed posted on the Web site of The Center for Vision & Values at Grove City College in Pennsylvania about the similarities between Sarah Palin and Ronald Reagan.

Dunn writes:

Sarah Palin and Ronald Reagan appear poles apart in their backgrounds. Before coming to the center stage of national politics, Palin was a small-town mother of five and governor of Alaska, and Reagan, a Hollywood actor and governor of California. But these and other dramatic differences mask surprising similarities, which now appear to merge at the intersection of time and circumstance.

Like Reagan, Palin appears to be an instinctive leader, not a policy wonk, Dunn argues. Both were underestimated by their critics. Both have compelling personal stories and also share what Dunn calls "reserved religiosity."

"Time and circumstances merged for Ronald Reagan," Dunn says. "Will they for Sarah Palin?"

Click here to read the full column.