Jack Tymann

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Daughter of a small-town grocer, Margaret Thatcher was elected leader of Britain’s Conservative Party at the age of 49, with zero international experience. Earlier she held junior ministerial posts and served as U.K. Secretary for Education and Science.

Thatcher went on to become history’s most effective woman leader, as Britain’s only-ever female prime minister. She led the Thatcher Revolution, a series of social/economic changes that dismantled Britain’s postwar welfare state. And she became Ronald Reagan’s ideological soul mate in ending the Cold War.

Like Sarah Palin today, Thatcher emerged suddenly as a young, smart, inexperienced, compelling, tough politician. Alike Palin, Thatcher was an articulate, confident, straight-talking conservative, who connected well with her voters.

Both lifetime devout Christians; both strong voices for traditional values; and both played hockey as youths.

But there are differences.

Thatcher’s wealthy businessman husband financed her political career and later became a lobbyist. It’s unlikely Palin’s husband, a part Yupik-Eskimo union worker, will ever consult in D.C.

Palin is more authentic, humorous, personable, charismatic, likable, humble, unassuming, spontaneous, relaxed and attractive than was Thatcher.

While both are examples of political courage, Palin has fought corruption in her own party and governed in bipartisan fashion more effectively than Thatcher.

Sarah Palin, a fresh new face in a dying political party, is the antithesis of boring, white, rich, out-of-touch Republicans, and the canned, focus-group-driven politicians who dominate our broken capitol. She has re-energized the Republican ticket, reducing focus on Barack Obama.

A unique blend of leadership and balanced ego, she’s accessible, works well with others and is a quick study. If suddenly thrust into the top role downstream, as was Thatcher, Palin would easily seek, gather and value advice from a strong team surrounding her.

Hoping she may emerge as their own “Iron Lady,” Republicans have been almost unanimously fired up by Palin’s selection.

But what about the uncommitted; those who resist both Obama and John McCain? Obviously, some will have strong reservations about Palin’s qualifications.

McCain could have selected someone with superior credentials, but he chose Palin believing she adds what’s needed for victory in November.

Palin’s selection secures significant Christian right support. They number 30 million nationwide. Without them, McCain cannot possibly win.

For evangelicals, the abortion issue dwarfs all others combined. And now, previously uncommitted evangelical leaders, including James Dobson, are supporting McCain/Palin. They would never have supported a ticket with Tom Ridge, Joe Lieberman, Rudy Giuliani, Colin Powell, Condoleezza Rice or Earl Hutchinson. At best they would have been tepid toward Mitt Romney. If McCain had made a “wrong” pick, many of them might have stayed home in November.

The Palin choice has also awakened conservative talk radio hosts who have been critical or turned-off to McCain.

How about the VP debate? Well, Joe Biden, with high expectations, may have to control his combative nature. But Palin, with low expectations, will blend charm, intelligence and toughness.

As Alaskans say: “Don’t ever underestimate Sarah Barracuda!”

If Palin’s roles as mayor and governor call into question her readiness, her executive experience is still superior to Obama’s. She’s been serving as Alaska’s CEO and commander of Alaska’s National Guard, while Obama has been on the campaign trail.

Palin has executed budgets, pulled factions together, compromised on tough issues, and made “buck-stops-here” decisions.

Her leadership record in Alaska is impressive. An effective voice for liberating Alaska’s energy resources, her victory establishing a 7,200-mile natural gas pipeline, after 30 years of failure, was simply remarkable. She created and shared oil company windfall profit taxes with all Alaskans. She understands energy issues better than Obama, Biden and McCain combined.

A proven reformer, fiscal conservative and strong environmentalist, Palin has courageously confronted political corruption. Enormously popular for tax-cutting and budget-balancing, her unprecedented 84 percent to 90 percent approval ratings are by far America’s highest.

Now in elected office for 13 years (five years before Obama first ran in Illinois), she has superior executive/management credentials as mayor, leading a key Alaskan commission, and in two years as governor, than Obama and Biden combined. Her brief Middle East trip as commander of Alaska’s National Guard gives her more pre-candidate international experience than Harry Truman, Jimmy Carter, Bill Clinton, George W. Bush or Barack Obama.

That said, McCain’s choice is arguably the boldest, riskiest gamble in presidential political history. To help make the Palin choice more palatable, McCain could begin announcing his cabinet, with Romney at Treasury or Commerce, Lieberman at Defense, Giuliani as Attorney General and Ridge as Secretary of State.

Surrounding himself with such proven strength might quell voter concerns about the woman he hopes will become America’s “Iron Lady.”

Jack Tymann is a regular contributor to the Daily News. As president of Westinghouse International, he led business development in 75 nations, including most Muslim countries. He later founded Homeland Security Partners, focused on counterterrorism technologies. In the 1990s, he served on and chaired the Clinton-Mubarak Presidents’ Council for the Middle East and met regularly with Arab leaders. He founded “Voices Against Jihad” in Naples. E-mail him at No2jihad@aol.com.