Sorry, laf. Almost left you out.

"Brilliant move !!! It throws the attack machine of the left realing and in need of a new MO."

Come to mention it, I was reeling around earlier... with laughter. For reals.

"The constant attacks and harassing ethics claims come to an abrupt end."

At least until the next time she feels pathologically starved for media attention and 'martyrs up' once again...

"I dare say she would be a crowd attractant to many conservative congressional candidates next year."

Let's start a drinking game. laf. We'll call it 'Which Conservative Congressional Candidate is Impervious to Kryptonite?' We'll take a drink for every conservative congressional candidate who shakes Sarah Palin's hand on stage, on camera, and doesn't snatch it back like he/she has just been scalded by a hot iron. It'll be a good drinking game to play on work nights, because we'll both go to bed as sober as judges and wake up hangover-free...

"Well what if she caimpagns hard for many next year and takes her case directly to the people? In 3 years will that same claim hold water? If the Obama failures continue and Palin is a major contributor to stunning Republican congressional gains in 2010 how does this not work to her advantage?"

Election cycles start early these days, laf; now's the time to start praying hard for another 9/11.

Oh, by the way: Happy Independance Day.

Unless your plans have changed since April, I imagine you'll be off at one of your Teabagging Parties... but while you're protesting the tax cut you'll be getting next year, do try to have a care and spare a thought for the brave men of the Constitutional Congress, who took their lives into their hands when they put their signatures to the United States Declaration of Independance, 233 years ago.

Imagine what they'd make of a bald-faced mountebank like Sarah Louise Palin.

kreoth: "2. Palin's treatment by the media (and the Democratic public) is the exact opposite of that awarded to Obama..."

How so? I totally disagree that Palin has been mistreated by "the media." You simply cannot lump together all media outlets into a monolothic entity called "the media." And you certainly can't do it without citing examples.

Are you referring to the Vanity Fair article? Because Vanity Fair isn't "the media." It's a single magazine. Are you referring to Salon? Because Salon isn't "the media" either. There is no such thing as "the media." But let's say for the sake of argument that the media does have some sort of echo-chamber based behavior. If that's the case, I still don't see where the media has mistreated Palin. Can you make your case that it has, without referring to blogs or something?

I also disagree that the liberal public has mistreated Palin in any significant way. My observation is that people have been largely content to leave her alone as long as she's not thrusting herself into the spotlight and saying/doing offensive things.

kreoth: "...Obama, another very inexperienced politician and whose soaring "I feel a tingle down my leg when I hear him!" speeches were (are still?) typically delivered with the help of a teleprompter."

It is true that people do find themselves inspired by Obama, and in a way that goes beyond merely admiring what he has to say. The important thing to point out, though, is that Obama really does have something to say. He and his family might be likeable and have a very cool personal story to them, but ultimately when Obama speaks, people respond to the thoughts and ideals behind his words. There is substance there.

I have been inspired by some of Obama's speeches, but it wasn't because he talked about his love of cornfields and cowboy movies or something. It's because his words encapsulated various aspects of society, human experience, judgment, insight and so on -- and often in mature, thoughtful, higher-minded ways that reached beyond the pettiness of day-to-day politics. It wasn't about HIM. It wasn't about his personality. It was about something bigger and beyond him, with him just being the communicator.

Regarding your comment about the teleprompter, others here have pointed out what an asinine criticism this is. Obama uses a teleprompter. So did George W. Bush. So does Palin. So did every other politician since the teleprompter was invented. The entire mention of the teleprompter is absurd and renders your argument suspicious. Can you really be unaware that most politicians use teleprompters? Or are you not thinking things through at all?

kreoth: "Also, the treatment of Palin's family, compared to Obama's, is shocking."

This is more B.S. Again you lump things together as if the media is one hive-minded monolith, acting in unison. That's idiotic. And again, I dispute your claim of ill-treatment. The media has been incredibly hands-off about Palin's family. I have never heard ANY major media figure talk disparagingly about Piper or Trig. (The qutie liberal Huffington Post had a Piper Palin slideshow that highlighted how CUTE and LIKEABLE she is.)

kreoth: "Obama's daughters are "the cutest girls ever", while Palin's teenage daughter was the target of a rather crass joke by David Letterman (and who only grudgingly apologized)."

First, Obama's daughters are damned cute. So is Piper Palin, who's about the same age range. Second, the Obamas have been very careful about the degree to which they put their daughters in the media spotlight. I can recall numerous interviews and accounts in which Barack and Michelle have acted to keep their girls out of the public eye so they can have a relatively normal childhood experience. Third, Sarah Palin did indeed play up her kids and family as integral to her public persona, inviting watchful attention on her children (if not inviting abuse). Fourth, David Letterman's jokes are not indicative of the actions of "THE MEDIA" as a whole, they're comments made by an individual in the public (and his joke writers), and as you might remember, he apologized sincerely and repeatedly for them -- showing the kind of self-corrective class that you seem to be denying exists.

kreoth: "The only person to be treated anywhere this badly by the media recently is, of course, Hillary (who's actually bright and well seasoned politically, and who was nonetheless treated like some sort of succubus next to the "angelic" Barack)."

"The media" recently mistreated Hillary Clinton? How so? Like Sarah Palin, Hillary opened herself up to criticism in numerous ways. One way was the lie about experiencing sniper fire in Kosovo. Hillary also pursued a negative campaign strategy, which backfired, deservedly so. Overall, though, I would say that people in the media gave Hillary Clinton as much as she deserved. After all, media outlets only stood to profit from the race being close, so why would they favor any one candidate over the other as a matter of policy? Jon Steart, Stephen Colbert, CNN, all of them gave Hillary Clinton all sorts of publicity that fueled her campaign. (Incidentally, I notice you use the term "succubus"....are you Rebecca Traister?)