The parallels fit, don't they? Both were one-term governors. Both had been local politicians before that. Both were picked without full knowledge of what they were about and what they stood for--both didn't really know themselves what they stood for. And both have been a huge headache to their running mates.
Of course, there are some differences. For one thing, Spiro Agnew wasn't embargoed from the press. For another, he managed to be a good civil rights governor of Maryland, as opposed to Palin's vetoing of benefits for gay partners. And Agnew started out as a reasonable moderate before becoming a nutty right-wing figure, while Palin's already there and trying her best to hide it. The comparisons are actually favorable to Agnew. Of course, Sarah Palin hasn't taken any bribes that we know of. But she's abused her authority in ways nearly as bad (see: Monegan, Walt). Personally, I think using your power to ruin the life of a state trooper is worse than taking money in exchange for doling out construction contracts--it's corrupt but nobody gets ruined by it--but then again I'm in the tank for Obama.
