Opinion: Margaret Thatcher refuses to meet with Sarah Palin

June 7, 2011 12:20 PM PT

This article was originally on a blog post platform and may be missing photos, graphics or links. See About archive blog posts.

Margaret Thatcher, the former British prime minister, is well respected by Sarah Palin, but it doesn’t appear that the feeling is mutual.

Recently the former Alaska governor revealed plans to take her ‘One Nation’ road show across the pond next month, with a stop in London as she makes her way to Sudan.

‘I am going to Sudan in July and hope to stop in England on the way. I am just hoping Mrs. Thatcher is well enough to see me as I so admire her,’ Palin told Britain’s Sunday Times in an article titled ‘Reloaded and on a Mrs. T mission: the Palins are coming to Britain!’

But the woman affectionately dubbed the Iron Lady isn’t interested in meeting with Sarah Barracuda during the hockey mom’s trip.

‘Lady Thatcher will not be seeing Sarah Palin. That would be belittling for Margaret. Sarah Palin is nuts,’ an unnamed ‘ally’ told the Guardian.

The Independent’s anonymous source was more diplomatic in denying the Fox News analyst an audience with the 86-year-old Thatcher, who has been in failing health. ‘Nowadays, the Lady rarely meets people at all. If a meeting went ahead, it would be very much low-key, and would very much depend on how things were on the day. We don’t make firm appointments for this sort of meeting,’ an aide said.

Thatcher is expected at the unveiling of a statue of former President Reagan outside the U.S. Embassy in London on July 4. The Guardian quotes Thatcher’s ally as saying, ‘Margaret is focusing on Ronald Reagan and will attend the unveiling of the statue. That is her level.’

Almost exactly a year ago, Palin gushed about Thatcher and wrote on her Facebook page that she had been invited to meet the only female prime minister Britain has ever had.

Following an article in a British publication on Sunday, I’ve received questions about a possible trip to the United Kingdom. I have received an invitation for a visit to London, and part of that invitation included the offer of arranging a meeting between myself and one of my political heroines, the ‘Iron Lady,’ Margaret Thatcher. I would love to meet her and hope I’ll be able to arrange the trip in the future. As I wrote last year when I offered her birthday wishes, Baroness Thatcher’s life and career serve as a blueprint for overcoming the odds and challenging the ‘status quo.’ She started life as a grocer’s daughter from Grantham and rose to become Prime Minister -– all by her own merit and hard work. I cherish her example and will always count her as one of my role models. Her friendship with my other political hero, Ronald Reagan, exemplified the Special Relationship between the United States and the United Kingdom.

Levi Johnston to release a tell-all book about Palin’s family

Sarah Palin is the best thing to happen to Mitt Romney, he says

-- Tony Pierce
Twitter.com/busblog

Upper photo: Then-Conservative Party leader Margaret Thatcher meets with President Carter at the White House on Sept. 13, 1977. Credit: Bob Daugherty / Associated Press

Lower photo: Sarah Palin. Credit: Associated Press