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Christopher Orr at The New Republic posts an email from a friend in Alaska who cautions that Palin shouldn't be taken lightly.
What the Republicans missed about Sarah Palin then--and what the Democrats seem poised to miss now--is that she is a true political savant; a candidate with a knack for identifying the key gripes of the populace and packaging herself as the solution. That keen political nose has enabled her to routinely outperform her resume. Nearly two years into her administration, she still racks up approval ratings of 80 per cent or better.
Several commenters note that Alaska is a different stage than the entire U.S., and that although Palin may be a gifted politician, she clearly is not framing her own national presentation/rollout.
In fact, I wanted to link to this because the comments include some thoughtful points before getting to the usual back and forth sniping -- unusual not just for this topic, but for political blog comments in general.

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