Evidently, some brainiacs inside the beltway thought red staters would go gaga over some vapid, basically blank-resumed buffoon who says a lot of stupid crap on social media. (You are not allowed to view links.
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I was wintering in Petersburg, Alaska, when Palin was governor. I sure didn't follow Alaska's politics closely, but I did formulate a few perspectives, how accurate I can't say. From what little that I gathered, Palin seemed to be more or less respected by most. However, hanging over her reception by Alaskans was the fact that she replaced a governor who, if I remember correctly, was so bad he was actually in jail. The testimonials were along the lines of, "Palin? Oooh, she's OK. She's better than the last guy." That was a weak testimonial. I did have a close friend from Montana that had moved to Alaska, and had been in Anchorage several years before I was there. After Palin was chosen as a running mate, my friend said, "She is a good pick, because Palin had done wonderful things for Alaska." No examples were given, however.
But under the intense limelight of national media which thrust Palin into the public consciousness and which Palin thrived on, her crazy behavior came bursting out in full glory horrifying the nation. When I was in Alaska I didn't think Alaskans were actually aware of her being a nutcase, but I think at the time she was newly elected. I don't know what the Alaska perspective was two years later.