A lot of people here are underestimating Sarah Palin.

While there's no chance in hell I would ever vote for her or McCain, a lot of the comments about Palin this morning totally ignore some solid strengths that she brings to the ticket.

1. She is a savvy and aggressive campaigner. Anyone who has even a passing knowledge of what she was up against in running for Governor and against the Alaskan GOP establishment knows that her campaign was a long-shot from the beginning - even given the weaknesses of her opposition. She's always been a player in Mat-Su valley politics, but she was largely an unknown in AK state politico circles, which she deftly turned to her advantage.

2. She has a record of putting her personal viewpoints aside and performing the duties of her office. She has consistently stated her moral opposition to homosexuality, but she strongly supported (after reminding people of her moral opposition) a state bill that mandates that employers who deny employment or benefits based on sexual orientation can be legally prosecuted. This has cost her points with AK conservatives to this day.

3. She has a record high approval rating among Alaskans of all parties. She's gotten grudging support even from staunch Democrats. This plays to the PR meme that she will be able to work with "moderate" Democrats like Pelosi and Reid.

4. Unlike McCain, she is personally likeable on the stump and she expresses herself cogently, like Obama.

5. Unlike McCain, she is whip-smart. Anyone who thinks otherwise just because she competed in a beauty pageant is in for a rude awakening. If Palin turned down the VP slot, he should have put her and her advisors in charge of his campaign and fire the deadwood running it now.

6. When she speaks against abortion, she has moral authority among conservatives, having recently chosen to give birth to a child diagnosed with Down's Syndrome in utero. McCain's flip-flops doesn't give him moral authority on anything.

7. She *has* taken on Big Oil in Alaska. Not in opposing drilling, but in making sure that the oil co's. pay more to the state and keep jobs there. Stevens does the same, but he bats for both sides a lot of the time for his personal benefit, and a lot of Alaskans have noted this. This is a big part of her high approval ratings.

What *won't* be a negative impact on the GOP ticket are:

1. Her having no foreign policy experience. Gov. Dean didn't either and I'd still vote for him as President in a heartbeat. Clinton didn't, and had a lot of political baggage from his days as AR Gov., and he still won a plurality in '92 (with Perot's help of course).

2. The meme being floating around now that she was only picked to bring in Hillary supporters. She isn't seriously expected to do that, and that isn't even her biggest strength. Her strength is the fact that, unlike McCain, she really is as advertized - a moderate, traditional, right-wing, principle-based conservative, and a real outsider to Beltway politics. Conservatives that were thinking about ditching McCain and voting for Obama in protest of the Beltway politics that has betrayed them now have a good reason to vote GOP this fall. In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if a few of them were half-seriously talking about presidential assassinations this morning.

3. Her relative youth. If it isn't a problem for Obama, it won't be for her. Because Dems have made McCain's age a negative in his candidacy, it won't be a problem for her.

McCain/Palin is still a weak-assed combination compared to Obama/Biden, but I will say that if the ticket were Palin/McCain, the GOP wouldn't have nearly as much to worry about for November. Still, Palin is McCain in nascent form. Once she gets into Beltway politics, my call is that the needs of her career will take precedence over the dictates of her conservative morals, and she'll be corrupted in the same way.

"strong record" .. as a mayor or a new governor?

"savvy and aggressive campaigner" .. how many elections? those elections mostly in red Alaska?

"whip-smart" .. what do you base this on?

I don't know if you are correct or not .. just saying doesn't make it so. What the evidence or support for these claims?

http://www.weeklystandard.com/Content/Public/Articles/000/000/013/851orcjq.asp

Yes, it's by Fred Barnes, but it's still mostly accurate. It mentions her >90% approval rating as governor (making her the most popular governor in that regard) and some of what she had to deal with in going against the Murkowski mafia.

""savvy and aggressive campaigner" .. how many elections?"

Three that I know of - mayor, lt. governor, and governor. They are mostly in Alaska, but I wouldn't classify Alaska has a garden-variety red state. It does go Republican most of the time, but AK politics tends to be very cliquey in Juneau and anarchic/libertarian everywhere else - a little like Texas. Very difficult for a newcomer to rise through the ranks as quickly as Palin has.

""whip-smart" .. what do you base this on?"

Partially from tracking her gubernatorial campaign (a lot of articles on the web about that - try the Anchorage Daily News archives), and from taking a English class with her when I was at Wasilla High School in 1978. Even then ... very aggressive and competitive and very smart. She stood out.

Now and then, MSM hacks like Barnes actually do straight reporting. Probably the last time it'll happen for Palin, now that she's a part of the presidential spin cycle.

Her total vote in her mayoralty race was 615 votes. Wasilla with its population at the time of around 6,000, police force of 25, where the mayor isn't even responsible for a good portion of municipal services isn't exactly a resume item that I'd be bragging about if I were her or you.

In her gubernatorial race her total vote : 115,000. State population of 670,000 which is less than 17 lower 48 cities, with a GDP of $29 Bn which is less than the GDP of 22 lower 48 cities and over 100 world cities. Chicago alone has a GDP of $640 Bn.

Obama spoke in front of 84,000 people in one stadium in Denver the other night, 75,000 in Portland,OR a couple of months ago and
100,000+ in Berlin.

The lower 48 doesn't have universal welfare, i.e. the Permanent Fund, which automatically makes any Alaskan Governor who is in office when oil prices skyrocket a veritable Santa Claus.


Chuck Kopp ........
Bob and Mark......
The First Dude.......
quite a distinguished circle..... not that A Snow Machine World Championship title isn't impressive.. just thinking of the frivolous burning of fossil fuels makes me feel more American.

Wow OmelasExpat, you really need to get out more.

High School English class in Wasilla, is that sort of like Harvard Law School ?


You meant this as satire.....didn't you ?

:rofl:

You're using that piece of shit as source material?

I'm not vouching for the source, I'm saying that the info Barnes gave in *that* report is confirmed by other sources such as the Anchorage Daily News.

But since the Anchorage Daily News has put most of their archived material behind a firewall, I had to settle for Barnes as *a* link - not the authoritative link.

:rofl:

She even pronounces "nuclear" the same way as Bush does. :rofl:

Elitists who quibble about how words are pronounced should be driven from the party.

:crazy:

Please step aside while the rest of us pick up your slack and win this election. Move along now.

Been here a lot longer than you. And I have done a lot more for our party than you. It is people like you who drive people to the Repigs.

:rofl:

People who can't tolerate disagreement are on the dark side.
Elitist is just another word fascists use to describe people whose capacity for complexity lead them to have opinions instead of marching in lock step like good little fascists.

Your defective cognitive skills are showing, you little bellicose bully. Blow it out your a**.
Notice I don't say that you should be driven from the party, nation or kingdom of life. That's cause I'm not a fascist.

Elitists have been the enemy of our Party for decades. People know and smell one from miles away and they will not vote for them. Maybe you want us to lose elections.

please, shut up already. Seriously.

Yes, "nukyular" is a common mispronunciation; the difference between Carter and Bush is that Bush is a total fucking moron and Carter has plenty of other much more substantial characteristics that mispronouncing nuclear is not a big deal. Palin is much more similar to Bush than to Carter (she doesn't seem quite as flat-out idiotic as Monkeyboy, but she's clearly uneducated and uninterested in learning anything new, which matches her exactly to Bush).

As for the "elitist" crap... so, you're advocating an anti-intellectual purge? "They's be making fun of our dumb talk! String 'em up!" I guess we should also teach Creationism instead of Evolution, lest we insult those same morons. :puke:

Try a reading comp course. It may be your friend. please, shut up already, Seriously.

I wrote that it's not a big deal that Carter mispronounces it, because he's amazing and has proven his intellect in so many other ways, but with Bush and Palin, it simply fits nicely with how illiterate and uneducated they are.

Besides, my biggest issue with you isn't the Carter/Bush thing, it's that you're advocating purging all people from the Party who have the gall to be smarter than you. Not driven out because they embezzled money or took bribes; not because they had an inappropriate relationship with a staffer; not because they were helping the other side behind the scenes--no, you want to drive them out because they poked fun at someone for completely mispronouncing a word in a manner that is famous for being wrong.

I'd rather be an "elitist" than revel in anti-intellectual idiocy.

God forbid we should look for leaders who illustrate through their accomplishments a superior insight, intelligence and sensitivity to the critical issues of our condition and are not afraid to exhibit their talents openly.

Let's instead look for our leaders on the next bar stool drinking a plain old American beer.
Eventually we will find that diamond in the rough,a Cincinnatus cutting brush, like the Republicans did 8 years ago and John McCain did again just this week.

It's the only way to win elections.
We all know this.
Why else would we use a donkey as our Party's symbol ?

It is impossible to articulate how hated he was. I think she's cunning but not smart. She believes in creationism. that is an IQ deficit right there. She has run one statewide election. She did it stomping the guts out of a crooked set of repugs. That doing, she has no friends here among the repugs anymore.

she is still a person with virtually no significant experience, who until recently was the mayor of a small town, no national profile, and who is currently being investigated for corruption. Do you really think McCain would have settled for someone like that if ANYONE better would have accepted an offer to be on his losing ticket?

Whatever her qualities, with this selection, Mcain has just announced to the world: "I have no chance of winning this election."

Most of the posts I've seen fail to mention that.

Why Palin? Because all the serious prospects are thinking about running themselves in 2012, and don't want to be part of a losing ticket in 2008, that's why. This has to be McCain's (OK, his handlers') seventh or eighth choice for Veep.

and Rove was adamantly against that.

Tom Hayden, at the Progressive Democrats of America meet in Denver, opined that this will be one of the closest races in history. (How it could be closer than 2000, I don't know.)

So the heat is on and it will take a massive commitment by a huge number of people to win this one, as it will take a landslide to allow Obama to actually be declared the winner, as republics' election fraud will be endemic.

had one meaning when we had peace and prosperity -- *before* we were embroiled in 2 wars, with Bush set to start a 3rd one before he leaves office. Has she ever even been out of the country? Off the continent? And McCain's big strength is supposed to be his foreign policy experience -- so her experience/lack of experience is actually a moot point.

"It's the economy, stupid." Remember that meme from '92? It's come back to haunt the son. McCain has already admitted straight out he doesn't understand the economy (although he's reading a book about it) and has made other statements to prove the point.

Her supposed "moral authority" wins her points with the extreme rw base -- and nobody else. The neocons don't give an eff, other than that her downs syndrome child will never be cannon fodder for their bloody wars, and the financial conservatives don't want financial responsibility for downs syndrome or any other unwanted dependents.

And, her supposed "moral authority" against abortion doesn't give her the right to stick her nose in *my* uterus and tell *me* what to do. My personal financial situation, personal network, etc. do not match hers. My ability to provide for a healthy child, never mind an unhealthy one, does not match hers. She has NO MORAL AUTHORITY OVER MY UTERUS OR ANYBODY ELSE'S. PERIOD.

She's a choice that appeases the extreme rw Kristian Konservatives and the oil barons.

She's not a choice for the neocon branch (which is the other branch that would assassinate) and is not a choice for the financial cretins who wanted mittens.

Obama's been largely consistent, but speaking against the Iraq War and then voting (along with Edwards and Clinton) to fund it many times *will* come back to haunt him in the debates, guaranteed. I really hope he's ready for it. Same with his two-faced support for the FISA bill. Regular Joe Biden takes the train to work, but crafted the bankruptcy bill purely for his banker constituency back in Delaware. That will come back to haunt him.

Palin has consistency on her side, and many moderates who don't necessarily agree with her views on abortion or gay marriage may be attracted to someone who is willing to be politically inexpedient for principle. And frankly, the firing of one state trooper isn't going to get a lot of traction unless a lot worse is uncovered. Being investigated by her own party just adds to her maverick image, and I wouldn't be surprised to see nothing come of the investigation now that her political capital has been raised.

"And, her supposed "moral authority" against abortion doesn't give her the right to stick her nose in *my* uterus and tell *me* what to do."

100% agreed. Which is one of the reasons I would never vote for her. The entire point of my OP was that she shouldn't be underestimated, as a lot of Obama supporters are trying to do now. It's not going to be a cakewalk for the Dems, and Dems shouldn't be convincing themselves that it will be.

Gidget doesn't cut it.

Sounds a little Rovian to me.

If that's true, the GOP would lose more by succeeding in that. She is one of the few brighter spots in their dismal future right now.

that she stood up to a bully brother-in-law (and that kind of shit is coming out now - the guy used a Taser on a child).

We criticize, she somes out smelling like a rose and we smell like shit.

It's got Rove written all over it.

Thus his nickname Turdblossom - he turns shit into flowers.

Since McSame tries to deflect any and all criticism of him by reminding everyone he was a POW over 30 years ago, what excuse will she use?

Consider the differences between Cheney, Gore and Quayle as V.P.. Each made the office about something entirely different.

I'm not endorsing her, but I think most Americans don't have a clear idea of what the V.P. job is really about, beyond being a backup Presidency.

At the end of the day, the V.P. is just another private citizen giving counsel to the Vice President. That's why I couldn't understand the push for Hillary for V.P. by some of her surrogates. It's not a co-presidency. The bucks stops at one desk.

important, with the sole exception in recent times being Quayle.

That being said, the Cheney Vice Presidency has been extra-ordinary.

Constitutionally, that's pretty much all the VP is: a successor in the event of an untimely death (or incapacitation). That's why this pick is important. With his age, the oldest first term nominee ever, McCain's VP has a great shot at the presidency. Whatever her personal qualities, selecting someone with no national stature shows a lack of judgment.

Then again, I thought Bush's choice of Quayle was damning, so what do I know?

... are making it out to be.

It's one of the reasons I'm encouraging people around here to take her candidacy more seriously, instead of just slagging her off as a no-hoper. Pep talk and generating good energy about Obama and Biden is good, but ignoring real threats isn't.

Well see what happens with the ethics investigation. I personally think it was a vendetta shot by the GOP establishment network in Juneau, and I'll lay odds the dogs (the *GOP* attack dogs that is) will be called off of her shortly.

Palin's inability to conjure such reflection in her own answer was painfully apparent. The differences among VPs to which you refer are principally proportionate to their aptitudes. Palin's is an unknown quantity at best.

who abuses state power in a bitter family custody battle.

Not going to help in the rust belt where the election will be decided.

In a nutshell, she has been lucky up till now.

He was the Democratic frontrunner and a well-liked politician in Anchorage with decades of experience in Alaska politics. (Tony Knowles first ran for Anchorage mayor when I was a teenager - I'm now in my fourties.) Sarah Palin was an afterthought in the GOP party - very much a dark horse. Knowles was juiced into Anchorage political circles when Sarah was playing basketball and running in track meets. He should have been the beneficiary of Alaskans' disgust of the Murkowski fiasco.

I've read the AK blogger's article, and he's dead wrong. Look up the coverage in the Anchorage Times about the Governor's race. No one expected her to do as well as she did, and even Knowles grudgingly admitted that she ran a strong campaign.

She did it the way that Obama did it in the primaries - by largely sticking to general promises at the outset. It worked for Palin and it worked for Obama.

And a has-been who was considered part of the same corrupt machine as Murkowski.

The questions which remain about her are:

1) Where she got her money in the first place. One of the problems with unknowns is where does the money come from? In her case, I suspect it came from uber-RW groups.

2) What kind of baggage does she truly have? She has a huge issue of cutting taxes, but over-spending. She did that with Wasilla. On top of it she's got trooper-gate. There also are issues of her husband having far too prominent (and inappropriate) role in the Governor's office. It would not surprise me to discover some extremely interesting, illegal and ties between him and several major constituents. Hell, I suspect some of the shenannigans I read about her inappropriate behavior with building a byway for snow-machines in Wasillia has more to do with her husband (and his love of that machine) than with good politics for Wasillia.

I really wish that people would stop wasting time with baby-gate which isn't going anywhere and concentrate on learning more about the above two points. A lot of good cycles have been lost which would have helped us frame the conversation.

:boring: she's TOO savvy and agressive!

1. She is a savvy and aggressive campaigner. --- she was running against Murkowski after outing a couple of corrupt repugs. it was a given to win. I could have won in the same conditions. She had a breeze into office because the corruption was so deep, anyone being against it got a free ride.

2. She has a record of putting her personal viewpoints aside and performing the duties of her office.

News to me.

3. She has a record high approval rating among Alaskans of all parties.

That has dropped. There is a lot of people who don't like her and they are vocal. Especially now and especially with her pushing the oil line through Canada.

4. Unlike McCain, she is personally likeable on the stump and she expresses herself cogently, like Obama.

So.

5. Unlike McCain, she is whip-smart.

She's a creationist. That isn't smart. It informs your world view and shows you to be stupid. She doesn't 'believe' in global warming and she's rigid, RIGID in her views.

6. When she speaks against abortion, she has moral authority among conservatives, having recently chosen to give birth to a child diagnosed with Down's Syndrome in utero.

Yet the greater majority don't support anti-abortion laws. Also, there is some question over that kid. She better be telling the truth because she's under the spotlight. I thought her going back to work after three days was fast. Just sayin'.

7. She *has* taken on Big Oil in Alaska.

She is a tool for the companies. Wants to drill everywhere. Get used to it. She is what she is. Also, she wants to screw us over by diverting the line through Canada.

What *won't* be a negative impact on the GOP ticket are:

1. Her having no foreign policy experience.

Agreed. The 3 am phone call is coming back to haunt them.

2. The meme being floating around now that she was only picked to bring in Hillary supporters. She isn't seriously expected to do that, and that isn't even her biggest strength. Her strength is the fact that, unlike McCain, she really is as advertized - a moderate, traditional, right-wing, principle-based conservative, and a real outsider to Beltway politics.

I disagree because I guess i know her. She is a radical conservative and the Focus on the Family dips have been trumpeting her. That will not help her cred. The independents and moderate repugs will be repelled by her agendas.

3. Her relative youth. If it isn't a problem for Obama, it won't be for her. Because Dems have made McCain's age a negative in his candidacy, it won't be a problem for her.

Disagree. If she had gravitas and experience, perhaps. But she doesn't. She has a kid going to Iraq and she said she hadn't given Iraq much thought. HOW THE HELL DO YOU DO THAT!?! My baby went to Bosnia. ASK ME SOMETHING!

McCain/Palin is still a weak-assed combination compared to Obama/Biden, but I will say that if the ticket were Palin/McCain, the GOP wouldn't have nearly as much to worry about for November. S

You have to understand, she is not well known yet. Give them time and she will be another awful pug. Give it time.

IMHO.

"she was running against Murkowski after outing a couple of corrupt repugs. it was a given to win."

Knowles had his own set of political baggage (as just about anyone in AK politics after Jay Hammond is), but he was far better known, far better financed, and far more experienced than Palin was. Her candidacy was a long ways from being a given.

"That has dropped."

It's still around 70%, which is still pretty good for an AK governor. A lot of people suspect that the investigation is a political witch hunt, for good reason.

"She's a creationist. That isn't smart."

I meant politically savvy. She's not a bad snake oil salesman.

"She is a tool for the companies. Wants to drill everywhere."

But she's actually negotiating on behalf of the state, not knuckling under Big Oil's demands as Hickel often did. I never implied that she was an environmentalist - far from it. Most of her constituents aren't (including a lot of AK Democrats), so I wouldn't expect her to be.

"She is a radical conservative and the Focus on the Family dips have been trumpeting her. That will not help her cred."

Among conservatives it will.

However, she was expected to be more hardcore on the "benefits for gays" legislation, and she wasn't. I expect that the GOP will play that up, and it may convince a few moderates that she's not as radical as she actually is.

"She has a kid going to Iraq and she said she hadn't given Iraq much thought."

That will come back to haunt her, agreed. She's been on the small stage, where she can get away with saying a lot of things off-the-cuff that she will regret when the video is dug up. I'm sure she'll be saying "What I really meant by that, was ..." in the coming weeks.

Keep in mind that I'm not advocating her, and I don't believe that she's going to see the inside of the Oval Office. But it's unrealistic to believe at this point that the McCain ticket hasn't gotten a boost (with the base and some moderates) by adding her. Personality-wise, she's not a pushover. She's a far-right radical, but she's been smart so far in how she's played it. If Obama sits back and cruises through a Bob Shrum-type campaign (which thankfully doesn't appear like it's going to happen), and she runs a savvy campaign in playing down the radicalism and showing her best colors, she could get the ticket within striking distance.

Forrest Gump type candidate. Good post. K & R.

"Sarah Palin, Senator John McCain’s surprising selection to be his vice-presidential running mate, took Alaska by surprise, too, not long ago. Though indisputably Alaskan, she rose to prominence by bucking the state’s rigid Republican hierarchy, impressing voters more with gumption, warmth and charm than an established record in government.

It was a combination that dumbfounded her rivals." >>>

http://stats.washingtonpost.com/cfb/ats.asp?gamecode=200808300017&home=17&vis=199

When the phone rings at 3 am and the president is unable to answer the call. who would you like to take the call Palin or Biden? That's the ad end of story.

She's put herself and the McCain ticket in a Catch-22. She could have gotten away with this on the small stage of AK politics, but her entire political future is hosed now. She may be forced to resign from the ticket, which will seriously damage McCain's candidacy. *This* could deprive her of the governorship - not Troopergate. If true, she lied to the entire state - echoes of Murkowski. For a candidate whose strong suit with the GOP base is her pretense of morality and integrity, it's fatal.

I still don't believe we should be complacent, but this is clearly very good news for Obama and the nation.

That really was a colossal misstep for her, and I'm surprised that she was too much of a fundie to avoid it.

you are aware of it. They are NOTORIOUS for having heart problems (and you are whip smart allegedly) but your water breaks, and you give a speech, you hop on a plane from TEXAS TO ALASKA, and you don't tell the pilot or crew, so that you can get back to your own doctor to deliver your child, and you have had 4 previous children, so you know EXACTLY when you are going to deliver and its NOT going to be on that plane???? And its premature at that???? Sorry, not mother of the year material for me. (having had a preemie with heart problems myself).

The question isn't how good or bad McCain/Palin are compared to Obama/Biden. The question is how stupid are 51 percent of Americans to vote Republican.

Actually, not even 51 percent are needed. Anything less than a 10 percent victory margin of the Democrats over the Republicans will allow them to steal the election as they did in 2000 and 2004.

Democrats have had their laugh. Now get serious about winning this election. The first order of business is to NOT underestimate the cleverness of the Republicans and the gullibility of the average American.

If the Republican spin machine can make an incompetent loser like George Bush into "the guy you would rather have a beer with...", then they shouldn't have too much trouble making a relatively young, slick-talking, good-looking beauty contest winner acceptable to enough right-wingers to enable them to steal the election.

"Who would you rather have a mooseburger with..." will become the advertising campaign for the Republican ticket. They will invent a whole fantasy scenario about her (and McCain) equivalent to the selling of toothpaste. Democrats will ignore this reality to the country's peril.

Remember! It isn't how good their candidates are. It is all about their creating the right marketing campaign to sell their slate to enough of a dense American electorate so that they can steal the election.

Democrats can win this by getting out the vote for Obama/Biden.

I remember well how during the 2004 election cycle, like many here I read basically no news but what was on DU and thought that most of the US was feeling the same way as us. Granted, that election was also stolen, however it came as a real shocking blow when Bush/Cheney got back in.

I will not make the same mistake again. I forced myself to sit through the barracuda's speech and watched how everyone in that audience had a rapturous religious experience over it. Cindy McCain was positively peeing herself she was so excited. Sarah herself was so overcome with the applause and ovation when she was done that she was nearly in tears which was why she grabbed the baby to use as a prop. She's now had a taste of the larger audience and she's loving it. She now has the best spinners in the world looking out for her. All the pre-presidency Bush scandals have never been mentioned in the corporate "liberal" media... his desertion, drunkeness, cocaine abuse, bankrupting companies, using public funds for corporate interests. Even as her scandals are coming to light, its just business as usual for the repub spinners and their media.

So please do not discount this train wreck of a woman. Please... don't get all overconfident and make the mistake of thinking that all her scandals will make a difference. Because they may not.

and that she appeals to a lot of voters.

What I am counting on is that what plays in Alaska is not what plays in the lower 48. If the speech last night was any indication, she will drive away voters as she attracts, if not more.

Inexperience is one thing; provincialism is another. Together they are deadly.

they are going to use her everywhere to bolster his sorry ass presence.

Come on, think about what has come out so far about mcsame and moose-burger. If similar revelations came out about Biden, Obama, or their families, can you honestly tell me that those wouldn't be run 24/7 like the Reverend Wright story?

Governor Palin in particular seems found of the big lie. I would really like to here an honest, unbiased obstetrician comment on Palin's miraculous flight to Alaska. Why didn't her physician drive down to Anchorage during her eight hour flight to Alaska? Then of course there are her political lies, being for the "Bridge to Nowhere" before she against it (and not returning the pork barrel cash).

Trooper-gate and her sweeping anyone who wasn't loyal out of the town infrastructure. Her economic "genius" that left her town a 20 million dollars in debt meth lab capitol( with 15 million of that in a public stadium without a clear title).

If we had a non-corporate, non-entertainment division, news service in this country, * wouldn't have won, and the entire nation would be laughing at the mcsame ticket. Please don't try to insult the American people by thinking that they know all this crap and still support corrupt, incompetent ruthuglicans.

My estimation of her savvy has gone down a lot since I wrote the OP. I've never denied that luck and timing had a big part to play in the AK governorship vote, but she's committed a lot more than a few missteps since then. The "small pond" of AK politics just made sure that a lot of them remained unreported until now.

Obama supporters shouldn't get complacent though. George W. Bush shouldn't have had eight years and Palin is a lot smarter than he is (like most people) and a lot hungrier for power.

in a BIG WAY.

She's a survivor and a formidable opponent, from those who know her.