by Zach Bigalke

Created on: November 06, 2008   Last Updated: November 25, 2008

The results are in... and Saturday Night Live's newest gold mine will not be around any longer in the national political scene. Sarah Palin, she of the endlessly scrutinized hairdo and overmatched answers, will take her dog-and-pony show and new wardrobe ("Wait, what? We're giving it to charity?!") back to Alaska. Joe Biden will take up residence at 34th and Massachusetts; Palin will go back to the Arctic Circle. But with the GOP firmly turning its backside to the Bush era and trying to look forward, Palin might not be there for long.

She was a largely unheralded neophyte on the trail when McCain selected Palin as his vice-presidential running mate. More known for feed-store flannel than haute couture and an itchy trigger finger on the hunt that would make Dick Cheney proud, Palin was a novelty for a press which had been traipsing around after McCain and Obama for somewhere approaching a year and a half, a new female face after the long lingering look that Hillary offered earlier during primary season. She may have had no clue as to what she might've had to actually do as vice president - "They're in charge of the U.S. Senate so if they want to they can really get in there with the senators and make a lot of good policy changes..." was her response to the question back in mid-October by a third grader - but she played along well with the press and gobbled up whatever cliche she was handed to hammer down in appearance after appearance...

Palin had a propensity for taking over the spotlight in the waning months of the 2008 presidential campaign, leading many to speculate whether or not she would be the new face of the Republican Party as it licked its wounds and lurked off to lie prone in wait for 2012. Her second career as a weekend comedy star notwithstanding, Palin will get some serious consideration as the next Republican candidate. The Grand Ole Party is in disarray as many lose their seats in a Bush backlash; it would seem foolhardy for the Republicans to put up another half-bright governor for the nomination. Palin did little to acquit herself on the campaign trail, stealing the thunder from what could've been a much closer race.

Yet don't count out party incompetence (for ANY party) ever when talking American politics - it is entirely possible that this is not that last we've seen of Sarah Palin. Barack Obama may have won the battle, but there's no doubt that there will be another one down the line. I'm sure the GOP could count on Lorne Michaels to bankroll the thing if it only gave him another crack at boosting ratings with a second round of Tina Fey impressions...

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