I'm watching Palin on Hannity tonight, as the late re-run of an earlier interview.

Apples to apples, she is much stronger than she was with Hannity last fall.

I'm happier than ever for my contribution to her PAC, and my hundreds of tributes here at Salon. She's simply great.

Here are my thoughts.

1. Go back to July 3, and the resignation. Howard Fineman wrote a good column in which he said (a) Palin is running for president and (b) she has a "reductionist" approach to government.

Don't laugh. The point was: if you want a more "market oriented" version of Obamacare, vote Romney. If you want to rip the bill to shreds and stick with the status quo, vote Palin.

2. Did I say July 3? It's being referred to now as the July 4 resignation; Independence Day. Palin is pretty clever with her symbolism; e.g., starting the rogue tour where she left off in 2008, in Michigan -- now a very early primary state.

(Let me crow just a bit here and note that I immediately, on these very threads, perceived the July events in horse race terms).

3. Speaking of reductionist, do you hear a slogan? All week, Palin has been saying "common sense conservatism." Then it hit me: compassionate conservatism. Yes we can. Change you can believe in.

She's branding herself as the person who can deliver a simple, discrete, thermidorian reaction to Obama. Who can deny it?

4. What about the big picture? Is she getting better as a candidate with a real chance, or what?

I admit, she's folksy, and that's unusual. But I also thought she seemed very strong on Oprah in saying, look, as a mayor, governor, and oil regulator, I made decisions and did well. Who can deny that, either? Her record is pretty good.

5. These crowds in Michigan remind me of the scene in Seabiscuit when Charles Howard first realizes, to his astonishment, that his hawking of his little horse his touched off a firestorm of intense popular enthusiasm.

In the case of Palin, to paraphrase the jockey Red Pollard, paraphrasing Shakespeare, "Though she be but little, she is fierce."

6. Speaking of ferocity, I loved Mary Matilin's comment today on the book: "She doesn't burn bridgs. She napalms them."

7. What about the campaign aide dispute? I don't know much about Maureen Dowd, but today she wrote a satiric but sporting column on Palin, and ended up defending her in the feud with aide Wallace. Interesting.

8. Joan, weren't you saying before that Palin will never be the nominee? Now, she'll just never be president.

"Mark my words," I can hear you saying next. "She might get elected, do well, and be on Mount Rushmore. Heck, she might even be more deserving than TR. But mark my words, she'll never be a Lincoln!"

9. Interesting that Palin's book tour includes stops at grocery stores which sell books, and similar dogpatch scenes. Bill Clinton was like that, going to McDonalds. Richard Nixon did so too, to distinguish himself from the Harrimans and Kennedys on the left. Most politicians don't -- they would scope out the cutest little privately owned book shop they could find.

It's indicative of confidence, I would say. Palin is meeting voters on their turf, rather than fretting about how the image looks on the news.

10. Joan, the death panel thing was brilliant. Rather than argue about the bill, she simply says, "Hey, I'm just being like Reagan." Who on the right will fault her for that?

11. It's fun watching the local store managers gear up for events like these. The strategy here, both locally and its play in the conservative press, is just flat out brilliant.

12. Joan, you say that Palin's advisors might want to review the 1980's history of Afghanistan with her. Um, are you assuming she has advisors? My view is that she is a sui generis self-trained phenomenon -- not unlike N.B. Forrest as an unlettered field general in the Civil War.

Just stop and think about this. She doesn't hold an office. She hasn't invented cold fusion. Why are thousands of people sleeping all night in tents to see her, in Grand Rapids Idaho, or Michigan, or wherever this place is?

13. Speaking of Michigan, I'm amused at the media types describing it as some bastion of red state quackery. It's true, Grand Rapids leans right, but it's a decent sized town with a diverse population, and Michigan as a whole runs blue. Palin does well there because she does well everywhere. Remember the 10,000 who turned out to see her for a parade this spring in New York.

14. I agree that Pawlenty suffered a major setback when the nickname T-Paw became public.

15. Will she be the nominee? I think it's fair to say that if she runs, she will be in the mix at the worst, and she could be the front runner at the best.

Could she beat Obama? Watching her this week, I think the answer is more yes than it was a month ago. Again, her style has some inherent limitations for some, but she's also showing some real spark and strength. Others will notice that too.

Only time will tell.

I'm hopeful for a President Sarah Palin.

R2, signing off . . . .