obviously the problem is that she's fully qualified to be president of the united states. governing a mere state is beneath her station.

Not to mention, her public pissing match with an 18-year-old high school dropout cannot be assuring anyone with a brain that this woman is ready to go to an international economic summit, or to arms negotiations, or to anything except an episode of Springer.

But she has a anti-abortion speech in Indiana, how she be expected to govern after flying 7000 miles?

How much are these little speeches costing Alaska ?

palin's response to losing the WAR vote was to say that the legislators "failed to confirm" based on "side issues" rather than really important issues: guns and abortions.

there's a really scary gun bill going through the alaska legislature now.

not suprising, palin's entire speech at the anti-abortion dinner was on the subject of ... herself.

You incorrectly imply that being selected as the next republican presidental candidate has something to do with governance.

You fail to understand that we republicans want to have power and could give a shit about governance. You also fail to understand that we republicans do not give a crap about what it takes to regain the power of the presidency or how we do it.

As I do not have inherited mega-wealth and only have an income of about $10 million a year, I am not in the inner circle of republicans. However, I believe that I have enough contact with many of them and share enough of the values of those who actually own the republican party that I can speak accurately on their behalf.

Our goals are to increase our wealth and power. As such, Sarah Palin is an ideal candidate. She has media appeal and she says the right things and we know that when we elect her as president in 2012, she will follow the scripts that we provide for her. We are confident that she will take care of our needs.

She may spout nonsense about right-to-life and gay bashing and family values, but that is a small price that we real republicans are content to pay to keep our wealth and power increasing.

Sarah has appeal to our core voters of the low information variety. She has a good media appearance and we know that our wealthy, corporately owned media will filter her negatives and amplify whatever message we decide she will put forth.

These are the same values that we saw in John McCain. Media appeal and controlled by our lobbyists. She shares many of the same features that made George W. Bush such a great president for us. President Bush may have been perceived as a disaster for his governance of OUR country, but in truth he was almost ideal for us. I did not make it quite that far myself, but under the leadership of George W. Bush more persons became billionaires than under any other president. What a great president!

As everyone knows that it is the wealthy who create jobs in the United States, electing Sarah will get us back on the track of a real solution to the real problem in our economy - that the wealthy do not have enough money. I proudly wear my Palin in 2012 button and urge others to do the same.

I just finished watching Andy Brietbart say on Fox with Neil Cavout that Palin represents the average American, just like the T baggers did and they all strongly identify with her, and that it's only Democrats and the media that is criticizing her because they are afraid she is a formidable opponent for 2012. Seriously.

@ Ice Cream for Crow We can only hope ..the Republican primary should be a hoot , with many many entertaining momenents, I reckon it should be starting next week sometime.

Good perspective, RPOV.

Sarah Palin = GWB in lipstick and glasses, minus the family connections.

Unfortunately for La Palin, those family connetions are what get a dimwit the GOP nomination and a Supreme Court pass into the White House.

You Einsteins might want to check Palin's popularity level in Alaska. Hint: It's quite a bit higher than your hero Obama's.

Why is Steve writing about someone so inconsequential again when Charlie Rangel's embarrassing tax problems threaten to destroy the free world?!?

Who? Rangel. You know, he's an uppity Democrat. What do you mean you've never heard of him? You people are impossible!

I love you Sarah! You'll show them all in 2012! Wolverines!!!

I will acknowledge that I have a unique sense of humor.

That being said, after the election last November, I purchased a 'Palin in 2012' button. I occasionally get it out and proudly wear it to selected events and locations. I am proud of myself that I have always contained my laughter on the inside over the comments that I get.

Residing in Indiana and having worn the Palin button only in the Indianapolis suburban areas and in rural western Indiana, the reactions that I receive are widely mixed.

About 20% of the reactions I get are very negative toward Palin. Probably another 10% are somewhat negative. Of the other 70%, about half are in the WTF category. The remainder of the reactions, which is better than 1 in 3, continue to make me sad for my country.

There are substantial population groups who see the image created of Sarah Palin and are offended if you try to bring reality to their opinions. They actually believe that she is some kind of super intelligent agent of christianity and the great white amerikan way.

Fortunately, I believe that 2012 will still be close enough to the Bush presidency for the majority of citizens to be willing to have another stupid tool be elected.

Hate to be coy, but:

Sarah Palin = Epic Fail

That's why she may well be the Republican opponent in 2012. She's going to whip up little culture war dust devils and get the tea baggers (aka, 89% racists?) all into frenzy. I can't believe that we would ever again elect anyone nearly as dumb, or in Sarah Palin's case, dumber than the Texan from Kennebunkport.

Please not while I'm alive!

Myke K, back away from the koolaid. Palin couldn't get her AG pick past a GOP dominated legislature. Palin is quickly becoming a spent force, particularly now that the price of oil is down and the state can't afford to hand out $1,100 to each and every state resident.

Her threat to not accept stimulus funds wasn't very popular either. City administrators and school administrators across the state lobbied the legislature to accept the funds. Our Congressional delegation (2 GOP, 1 Dem) encouraged Palin to accept the funds. She quickly back pedalled. It's starting to look as if Palin's state political career will be limited to a single term as governor.

You know, of course, that her career began by taking on BOTH parties but especially the Republicans. Funny how the lefties keep forgetting that.

Myke, Do you get an autographed pair of genuine naughty monkeys for posting? Internet porn, meth, oxycontin, and child abuse are popular in alaska too but that doesn't make them good things.

The Empress has no clothes, and is losing her ability to impress in Alaska. The serious stuff - appointing Wayne Anthony Ross as attorney general, and making it clear that he would have free rein to trample Native subsistence rights in favor of continuing to steer wildlife management towards a big woild game park for urban sport and Outside trophy hunters, push a religious agenda, and other things an attorney general has no business doing, her insistence on shoe-horning a Republican somehow into a Juneau Democratic Senate seat, and her total indifference to governing in favor of photo-ops and picking stupid fights with those whose support she should be courting - is wearing thin. The crazy-crazy stuff, like her Wasillabilly homelife and rushing to People magazine or Us every time she wants to communicate with her almost-son-in-law is just plain tawdry. She's burned bridges with legislators, the Bush, Southeast Alaska (check out the regional votes for and against Ross' A.G. nomination), women - watch to see her Cabinet members start to long for more family life by the end of the summer. By then, I'll bet her BlackBerries will have stopped speaking with her.

Palin's odd family shenanigans aren't helping either, ranging from her odd handling of her own youngest baby's birth to her daughter's cryptic pregnancy and aftermath, to Bristol's boyfriend's mom's arrest on Oxycontin charges (and there's a new one about a half-sister (?)breaking in, I forget the name but this time it ended with "Palin".) Adds to that, "Go ahead and secede, Red States!" sentiment.

You know, of course, that her career began by taking on BOTH parties but especially the Republicans. Funny how the lefties keep forgetting that.

Mike K (or is it Myke K?) no one has forgotten anything. She couldn't get her AG appointment past the legislature because he's a right-wing nut job that's too radical for the majority of Alaskans. The thing is that most of the GOP pols up here are not bat-shit crazy and neither are the people that vote for them.

Here's a priceless photo of Wayne Anthony Ross's reaction to the Legislature's vote on his nomination for AG. What did he do to elicit that reaction from the woman sitting next to him?

You sniveling pantywaist liberals may laugh, but Sarah Palin is our bright shining Northern star - a magnificent specimen of Republican womanhood, able to shoot and skin her own moose and write Constitution-honoring law all in a day's work. Annie Oakley in a business suit. You're the one's getting "skinned" and we'll be the ones laughing in 2012, God willing.

AK Liberal, @17:41,

Mike K is the real thing -- right down to 3 wives and patriarchal/authoritarian tendencies. Myke K is a take off. Ditto a couple of other posters; "red state mike" becomes "dead weight mike" and Marler becomes Quarreler.

To get back to the subject... I sure as heck wouldn't want to live in the same house with her, either as a child, grandchild or husband. She strikes me as someone who may very well be able to keep a lid on her emotions in public but hose hissy fits *in private* would be epic.

And she's had plenty of reasons to pitch those hissies, especially with the AG nomination. Just *yesterday morning*, the NYT had an article on her, which mentioned the nomination and the controversy around it but, at the same time, said that nobody seriously considered that she might be baulked f her wish on the issue. The Legislature's rejection must have come like a bolt out of clear sky...

It was easy to be Sarah Palin, media darling and rising political star, when Alaska was awash in oil money and she could just shovel out cash by the carload and never had to make any tough decisions or even pay attention to how government works.

Now she's expected to lead, to forge compromises and do the hard work of actual government. This Sarah Palin does not do well, and it's becoming increasingly obvious that she is completely out of her depth. She has been all along, actually, but without all that surplus money nobody is buying her simpering, useless Princess Barbie act anymore.

Sucks to be Sarah Palin these days. Right, Sarah?

Sarah?

Sarah???

(crickets)

Thanks exlibra. It's getting hard to tell parody from sincere comments.

As exlibra pointed out, check the name. Our most prolific parody troll on this site deliberately chooses distorted versions of the real trolls names. Other than Mike K/Myke K, most of the changes are revealing and not particularly subtle. I am particularly fond of "dead weight mike" and "MathewRQuarreler".

Btw, one exception to this is Al. I keep reading that he is and has been a parody for at least a couple of years now, but he was so over the top and factually challenged when he started that it is hard to tell the difference.

Late breaking news: Palin will get to make a third appointment to the five-member Alaska Supreme Court. She's already replaced two retired justices, and a third just announced his retirement. Even if she serves a single term as governor, she will have packed the third branch.

The bad news is that AK justices do not require legislative confirmation. The good news is, the governor can't pick just anybody; nominees come from a special meritocratic panel.

Sarah Palin is like a heavy metal band that debuted in 1991. They might be just as talented as a dozen other eighties bands who had way more success than they did. Their only shortcoming was being late to the party.

Palin's every bit as talented and articulate as W. and she has better hair. But after 8 years of experience with W, voters found her frightening.