We hear you we hear you TNC but she is such a good wife and a very loving woman. Isn't she so pretty...just adorable. I bet she will just light up that white house.
On the Alaska side, I think she does potentially appeal to the western libertarian moose-shooting independent, a group that was helping turn those red mountain states purple and maybe blue.
We'll have to see more speeches and interviews to determine if she comes across as so-gosh-darned commonsensical or fatally thin on resume. But the response has been very right-coast; not hearing much from the mountain states. Do none of Alaska's 700,000 odd residents read TNC? Is there an Idahoan or Montanan out there?
I have no idea how she'll come across to the rest of the country, but she's pretty popular in AK. The Republican establishment is so corrupt that she's just been a breath of fresh air. She's too conservative for me to vote for her, but I do like her a great deal.
Mostly I'm just irrationally excited about this happening to someone from my hometown!
A dKos diary written by a resident who grew up with her as mayor suggest she's mostly good at opening Walmarts and encouraging suburban sprawl; reports a steep decline in the schools while she held office.
Another great source is Andrew Halco , who ran against Palin for governor as an independent -- fairly thorough on the more substantive issues surrounding politics in Alaska.
Although I live in China, I still faithfully download my NewsHour podcasts. The Friday show had an interesting group of Alaska folks, both pro and con on her time in Alaska politics.
KAYLENE JOHNSON, Author, "Sarah: How a Hockey Mom Turned Alaska's Political Establishment Upside Down"; MICHAEL CAREY, Anchorage Daily News; LINDSEY HOLMES (D), Alaska State Representative
The final words....
JUDY WOODRUFF: How do you think she'll do, having watched her?
LINDSEY HOLMES: You know, I think it's going to be a real challenge for her. We're talking about a small-time mayor who's learning to be governor of the state, has been spending the last year-and-a-half gearing up to that, but I don't think has had much exposure to the national and international scene. I think it's going to be a really steep learning curve for her to get up to speed on the national and international issues.
MICHAEL CAREY: I am really not sure. I know that she will take this as a challenge. She said in the piece that you played that life is not for the safe; there are risks to be taken; the ship isn't built to stay in the harbor.
And I'm sure those beliefs, and her own personal faith, and her own sense of destiny will buoy her as she goes along. On the other hand, I don't think she's ever faced a challenge like this. And I'm confident that she really doesn't appreciate how difficult this is going to be.
Here's a piece no one cared about. Meh, whatever, probably the most enjoyable article I did during my stint at TIME. Premiered a month before I got laid-off. The nail in the coffin? Ya think?
Here's me going after Al. I didn't so much have a problem with him, as I had a problem with media acting like this dude was the go-to guy for everything black.
This was my first real story at time. I was writing for the Business section, a real change of direction for me. At any rate, it's about Wal-Mart's attempts to colonize the inner-city. As much as I enjoyed this piece, I mostly enjoyed going out to Chicago, which is a beautiful, beautiful city.
This a piece I did about the cops just outside our nation capitol, in Prince George's County, a few years back. I wanted to offer a counter to the dumb, conventional wisdom that if you paint your police force black, you could eradicate police brutality. In fact, Prince George's--one of the richest, blackest counties in the country--also had one of the most brutal police force's in the country.
The Beautiful Struggle: A Father, Two Sons, and an Unlikely Road to Manhood 
*crickets chirp*
:)
Maybe they're all simply stunned into silence?
We hear you we hear you TNC but she is such a good wife and a very loving woman. Isn't she so pretty...just adorable. I bet she will just light up that white house.
:)
LAWL. Clearly I've overestimated my reach. Wu-Tang allusions will only take you so far...
On the Alaska side, I think she does potentially appeal to the western libertarian moose-shooting independent, a group that was helping turn those red mountain states purple and maybe blue.
We'll have to see more speeches and interviews to determine if she comes across as so-gosh-darned commonsensical or fatally thin on resume. But the response has been very right-coast; not hearing much from the mountain states. Do none of Alaska's 700,000 odd residents read TNC? Is there an Idahoan or Montanan out there?
I have no idea how she'll come across to the rest of the country, but she's pretty popular in AK. The Republican establishment is so corrupt that she's just been a breath of fresh air. She's too conservative for me to vote for her, but I do like her a great deal.
Mostly I'm just irrationally excited about this happening to someone from my hometown!
Andrew found a second Alaskan to go with Jamie up there. So far we seem to be looking at "we really like her, but I don't know how she translates."
Well, I'm from the bottom (not top) of the West coast so I can't comment
But I'm thinking, TNC, that Wu-Tang allusions will actually get you pretty far in many cases, but not so much in Alaska
I managed to find one Alaskan with an interesting perspective.
What is McCain Thinking? One Alaskan’s Perspective.
A dKos diary written by a resident who grew up with her as mayor suggest she's mostly good at opening Walmarts and encouraging suburban sprawl; reports a steep decline in the schools while she held office.
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2008/8/29/19534/4063/266/579434
Another great source is Andrew Halco , who ran against Palin for governor as an independent -- fairly thorough on the more substantive issues surrounding politics in Alaska.
Highly recommended.
Although I live in China, I still faithfully download my NewsHour podcasts. The Friday show had an interesting group of Alaska folks, both pro and con on her time in Alaska politics.
KAYLENE JOHNSON, Author, "Sarah: How a Hockey Mom Turned Alaska's Political Establishment Upside Down"; MICHAEL CAREY, Anchorage Daily News; LINDSEY HOLMES (D), Alaska State Representative
The final words....
JUDY WOODRUFF: How do you think she'll do, having watched her?
LINDSEY HOLMES: You know, I think it's going to be a real challenge for her. We're talking about a small-time mayor who's learning to be governor of the state, has been spending the last year-and-a-half gearing up to that, but I don't think has had much exposure to the national and international scene. I think it's going to be a really steep learning curve for her to get up to speed on the national and international issues.
MICHAEL CAREY: I am really not sure. I know that she will take this as a challenge. She said in the piece that you played that life is not for the safe; there are risks to be taken; the ship isn't built to stay in the harbor.
And I'm sure those beliefs, and her own personal faith, and her own sense of destiny will buoy her as she goes along. On the other hand, I don't think she's ever faced a challenge like this. And I'm confident that she really doesn't appreciate how difficult this is going to be.
http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/politics/july-dec08/palintalk_08-29.html