Here are some random thoughts about Sarah Palin:
1. Troopergate. Sean Hannity said today that Walt Monegan denied that Sarah Palin dismissed him for not firing her ex-brother-in-law, Mike Wooten. Palin said the same thing in her interview with Charlie Gibson. But CNN Presents presented a recording in which Monegan said the exact opposite. If my memory is correct, the program said that Monegan did not officially claim that he was fired for that reason, but he affirmed it privately.
In wikipedia's documented article, Alaska Public Safety Commissioner dismissal, Monegan seems to talk on both sides of his mouth. He doesn't know why he was fired at first, then he says there was a lot of pressure on him to dismiss Mike Wooten.
Also, there's something I don't understand about what Sarah Palin said in the Gibson interview: she denies that she interfered, yet she seems to justify interfering, since Wooten tasered her nephew and threatened to kill her father. But I think she also pointed out that Wooten is a trooper to this day, so maybe she wasn't out to get him. I don't know.
2. People are criticizing her for cronyism: she put friends in government positions. What's wrong with that? Why can't she appoint people she actually knows? Many of the same critics put McCain down for making Palin his running mate without really knowing her. You just can't please some people!
3. As I was walking to one of my meetings, a thought occurred to me: Senator Palin.
I don't know what will happen on election day. McCain could sweep the red states, as George W. Bush did in 2004. Or the bad economy could lead Obama to win, which happened to Clinton in 1992. McCain could once more give the impression that he's out-of-touch, the media would make a big deal out of it, and McCain would then lose. Or the election could be so close that it would be resolved in the courts, as occurred in 2000.
But, if McCain loses, I can see Palin going the way of other conservatives who became famous during a Presidential election: she'd become a U.S. Senator, like Lamar Alexander and Elizabeth Dole. Maybe she'd vote along GOP lines, after becoming accustomed to Washington. Or maybe (hopefully) she'd keep on being a maverick. I don't know. But she'd continue to be a right-wing celebrity. She's that beloved. She may even make a run for the Presidency, but I'm not sure if she'd win. Running mates on a losing ticket usually don't win the White House, as far as I know.
But, then again, I can picture hearing the phrase "Vice-President Palin." Who knows?