Sarah Palin stumbled triumphantly onto the national political scene last September, when she was tabbed as John McCain’s running mate. Now, after a humbling November defeat, she’s back to being just Governor. And if trying to bring life to the Republican campaign wasn’t impossible enough, Palin is returning to tough times in Alaska.
The state budget is due in one month, and it comes at a time when the Alaskan economy is suffering under tanked oil prices. Then, of course, Palin has to facilitate further construction on her natural gas pipeline, and dodge further wrongdoing in the TrooperGate case, all within a local political culture where her fiery right-wing campaign rhetoric has turned away the democrats with whom she created her celebrated bipartisan record.
This past year, Sarah Palin proved that a history of small-town politics can be detrimental in a national campaign. In the next few months, she may also prove the opposite. And to make matters even worse, it’s coming on winter in Alaska, where it gets darker and colder than any hell elsewhere in the US (nevermind most of Canada). In such tough times, what would a maverick do?
This just in: Sarah Palin is Secretly Not a Genius. Good. We’re glad to know for sure. Now what would we do without the Internets?
