The Alaskan Intrigue

Just when you thought this election couldn't get any more exciting, John McCain brings Sarah Palin into the mix, and the country can't digest it fast enough. A case of classic political ballyhoo, or maverick ingenious? I'm not yet sure that that question can be answered quite yet, but either way you look at, it sure is interesting.

I've done a fair share of reading about this Palin woman over the last week, and my sources are as diverse as The New York Times and Wikipedia. I've seen the picture of the governor sitting in her bear-decorated office, wondered just how enthusiastic the daugher/boyfriend are about getting married, and am drawn to her looks, which are simple yet captivating. It's as if she's trying to look like she's not trying, with her fashionable glasses and schoolteacher hairstyle and all. But hey, I love the schoolteacher look (I am, indeed, married to one), and, you know, I actually don't think she is trying all that much. Just wait until she lets her hair down, and then see what happens.

And after all the scuttlebutt, we all simply had to give up reading about the woman and watch the woman herself. And regardless of what side of the fence you are on, or even if you're in the middle of that fence, the woman didn't disappoint. I mean, can you imagine the pressure? But poised and direct, Palin jumped right into the challenge, mixing direct attacks with her personal resume, throwing in some family details and even a few jokes. I mean, this woman sold the governor's jet on eBay. To be a no-name Alaskan one day and in the center of a hotly-disputed, scandal-driven, vetting-questioned presidential election the next must be no small challenge. But, then again, nothing in Alaska is small.