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The Palin phenomenon has puzzled me too. Of course "different" always generates media attention and being only the second ever woman Vice Presidential candidate in itself was bound to get lots of that, as was the image -- "frontier" gal from "America's last frontier," "moose hunter," "hockey mom," etc. All those cliches made for headline captions. Then the controversy over her less than polished early public appearances generated lots of publicity and even negative media publicity keeps a name in the news and on the air. It also draws some supporters to rally round their candidate.
I agree with Charles Cooper that comedian Dennis Miller (see Cooper's article at the above link) fairly well nails it in explaining Palin's continued appeal to a segment of conservatives, the social conservatives particularly, but to some others as well. In a segment of the Bill O'Reilly program, Miller said "I mean, she drives the right people crazy. . . . Do I think she's going to outsmart you? No. But do I think that, in some way, she has an appeal with people that practiced politicians might never have? Yes, I do."
Whether this will translate into broader support among Republicans and others as the time comes to nominate a Presidential (or VP) candidate for the 2012 race remains to be seen. It will take, as Cooper observes, a "reinvention" of Sarah Palin as a person of substance with a real grasp of foreign and domestic issues and with the maturity required of a national leader. Whether it's in Palin to be such a person remains a question. From what we've seen to date, it would seem unlikely. -- S. Lane
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