Sarah Palin to visit Margaret Thatcher

POLITICO, 6/14/2010 (Hat tip: Linda Weimer) - Former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin is planning a trip to London and a visit with former Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, her staff has confirmed to POLITICO. ∴ In a Facebook post scheduled to go up Monday, Palin writes: “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,” Palin writes of the former conservative leader whom the former governor frequently cites in speeches.

“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,'” Palin continues. “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.”

The news of a possible trip was first reported by London’s Daily Mail, which wrote on Sunday that Thatcher has agreed to the visit.

Palin recently touted Thatcher during a speech at a fundraising breakfast for the Susan B. Anthony List in Washington — a speech in which Palin highlighted many of the “mama grizzlies” she believes are reshaping the Republican Party.

“Mrs. Thatcher, she never set out to be a woman prime minister, just a prime minister,” Palin said. “Mrs. Thatcher used to say about politics ‘You want something said, ask a man. You want something done, ask a woman.’”