Sarah Palin - Go Ahead, Make Her Day!

And so … here we are … the start of yet another work week and a mere 64 days until they crown His Majesty Barack Obama, the United Socialist States of America’s first, king. But alas, that is for another day's discussion.

In the meantime, it’s Monday morning and time for my several cups of coffee and a splash of Fox & Friends to get my motor running. That is until I catch my first replay of Newt Gingrich appearing on yesterday’s CBS news magazine “Face The Nation.”

My eyes were not the only thing requiring a splash of warm water this morning. My ears had somehow deceived me. I could have sworn I heard Newt Gingrich taken Governor Sarah Palin down a notch, asserting that she would not become the party’s leader in 2012.

So I did what any red blooded Conservative American would do in this situation … I ran to the calendar on the wall, just to verify whether or not I had pulled a Rip Van Winkle, to see if indeed it was now April 1, 2009. Wait a minute; it appears that the Ghost of Christmas Future did all his work in one night.

“I think that she is going to be a significant player,” said Gingrich during the interview on Sunday morning. “But she’s going to be one of 20 or 30 significant players. She’s not going to be the de facto leader.” Gingrich is actually out there diverting media attention away from Palin and to other governors such as Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal (R) and Utah Gov. John Huntsman (R).

She is a threat to the modern Republican Party, which is made up of a bunch of (in the words of talk show host Rush Limbaugh) "linguine-spined moderates" … and now they're trying to take her out. But the problem is that conservatives and Republicans (according to Rasmussen Reports) love and respect this woman. And it's not even arguable and it's not even close.

Tina Hemond writes this morning, on her blog “Massachusetts Conservative Feminist – Ordinary – Degrees of Moderation and Sanity” ( http://degreesofmoderation.blogspot.com/ ) the following:

“Love her or hate her, depending upon one’s political affiliation, she is owed a debt of gratitude from all women and parents who have daughters. Sexism was used to distract the general public for political gain. It was evident, and women have taken note. Will sexism be used again in politics and succeed? Hopefully, because of women like Hillary Clinton and Sarah Palin, the nation will not have to wait another twenty four years before learning the answer.”

Governor Palin ignited a dead and dry campaign. Volunteers and contributions came out of the woodwork within hours of her being put out there in Dayton, Ohio. For the same reasons (we assumed they chose her) she is indeed smart, she’s beyond competent, she’s incredibly articulate, she’s a doer and she’s got a proven track record. I believe that’s what her attackers fear most … that she’s too effective at brushing the waste away where it belongs.

And so, now that I am fully awake this morning, I ask: WTF? I was absolutely stunned and taken aback by these comments ... especially from Gingrich, whom I've always had the utmost respect. They used this woman … and then when they were finished, they threw her under the bus ... and now they're driving the bus right over top of her.

In the spirit of Clint Eastwood's popular character, Dirty Harry, I'm sure that Governor Palin is thinking: "Go ahead, make my day!"