SARAH PALIN - THEY JUST DON'T GET IT

They have not only attacked her personally; they have attacked her husband, her children, her values, and her beliefs with far more slings and arrows than any political figure has ever had to endure. Yet through it all, she remains above the fray in representing the heart and soul of the Land of the Free and the Home of the Brave.

"They" include the mainstream media, the left (I know that's being redundant), and even some within her own party. "They" sense a unifying force; "They" see a renewed hope; "They" hear inspiration; and so "They" feel threatened!

"They" include:

Andrew Halcro - who lost the 2006 gubernatorial race to her: "If she is thinking that leaving her term 16 months early is going to help her prepare to maybe go on to bigger and better things on the political stage, I think she's sadly mistaken. You just can't quit."

Larry Sabato - Director of the University of Virginia Center for Politics: "I think it eliminates her from serious consideration for the presidency in 2012."

John Weaver - former senior strategist for John McCain's presidential bid: "If this is her launching pad for 2012, it's a curious move. She has no real accomplishments as governor."

Phillip Elliot - Associated Press: "Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin's abrupt and unscripted holiday resignation is an odd way to launch a potential presidential bid and certainly no help for a party battered by scandal and fighting for relevancy."

The New York Times - A liberal rag: "We can't get over how she convinces a general election audience how quitting on her constituents is a good thing."

The Daily Kos - A Radical Web Site & unOrganization: "You have proven yourself an able contortionist, twisting circumstances to your convenience and naively believing that your self-serving yelps of success will drown out the shocking volume of your ineptitude."

The Huffington Post - An Internet Newspaper: "Palin's vision of politics is so profoundly radical that even performing the duties of office becomes unimportant."

Bill Maher – HBO Political Host and former comedian: “She’s nothing more than a Retarded Flight Attendant.”

ABC News - Obama's State Run Television News Bureau: "If she thinks she’s had it so tough … two words … ‘Hillary Clinton’. Mrs. Clinton has been savaged with nasty criticism.”

To all of those listed above, as well as to the far too many more of you to list, I offer this shiny most recently released State Quarter and advise you to:

"BUY A CLUE!"

Where was all the scrutiny, not to mention the on-going vicious personal attacks, on Hillary Clinton? And we're not talking about her (in the words of country singer Patty Lovelace): lying, cheating, cold dead beating, two timing double dealing, mean, mistreating husband.

Mrs. Clinton, with no experience as a politician other than being married to one, ran a popularity contest for Senator of the very "blue" State of New York ... and wins. In her eight years as Senator the majority of her time was spent laying the blueprint and planning her run at the Presidency of the United States. Her entire second term was spent, largely, on the road in setting up her campaign strategies, personnel, offices, support, etc.

For her entire last two years as Senator, Mrs. Clinton devoted 99% of her time to becoming President, with no serious dedication to the tax payers of New York who paid her salary.

Sarah Palin was no longer going to allow the false accusations and attacks, as well as her future political aspirations and travel, hurt the state and people she loved. Sarah Palin truly cares about the State of Alaska, its citizens, and its future. As much as she cares about the United States of America.

With Hillary Clinton it was all about her, the Democrat Party, and most importantly power. With Sarah Palin it is absolutely about practicing what she preached (as she did throughout her brief run for the Vice Presidency): "Country First."

As radio talkshow host Rush Limbaugh commented over the weekend: "When you have so many establishment types; inside the Beltway elites and media, be it Republican, Democrat ... it doesn’t matter, just so eager to destroy this woman ... it means they’re still scared to death of her."

And rightly so.

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!"