by Patrick Henningsen

Created on: November 08, 2008   Last Updated: November 25, 2008

She was close, a "heartbeat" away from making history. A 2% vote swing, or a few more disgusted conservatives not boycotting the Bush administration's lies, betrayals and wars could have resulted in a McPalin' win. The experts are currently mulling this one over.

History reveals some dubious party nominations. Parallels are being drawn between this year GOP ticket and the Democrat's choice against Reagan. Walter Mondale and Geraldine Ferraro were swamped into terminal parody. Geraldine's NYC character was on full display and did not disappoint a news media who could not resist capitalizing on this 80's instalment of the battle of the sexes.

Where it lacked in political appeal, the McCain-Palin ticket did not disappoint when it came to entertainment.

Love her or loath her, the GOP's Vice Presidential nominee made a splash. Palin was clearly game' for the media circus that followed her. The winks and quaint euphemisms made national headlines during the debates, capped it off with an appearance on Saturday Night Live. A star was born.

Endearing middleclass terms like "Hockey Mom", "You betch ya", and "Joe Six-pack" became overnight coast-to-coast successes. In an age where the reality TV format dominates pop culture, she represented the ultimate in "reality politic".

Cracks first apparent during Palin's infamous Katie Couric interview, then aides leaked her inability to name all three countries in the North American Free Trade Agreement (namely the US, Canada and Mexico), and finally came her revelation that Africa was in fact a continent (and not a country). Admittedly, there were too many flashbacks of Dubya here, and for a nation suffering from PTSD, it seemed all a bit much.

One angry aide characterized the notorious shopping spree as "Wasilla hillbillies looting Neiman Marcus from coast to coast". The story goes that a McCain staffer told the Pailn to buy three suits for the convention and hire a stylist. Palin apparently had taken this as a green light for herself and her family to stock up on clothes and accessories from top boutiques Saks Fifth Avenue and Neiman Marcus. Even the retail excesses of Michael Jackson seemed graceful in comparison.

In a final face-saving exercise, John McCain himself praised Palin as the future of the Republican party' at the GOP concession speech on Tuesday night.

As a politician, she has a long way to go in establishing a stateperson's credibility. Yet, with little foreign policy knowledge or experience, Palin can still could make a successful run for Alaska's U.S. Senate seat, securing her a place on the national stage. With considerable coaching she could make a challenge in 2012, provided there is a serious lack of GOP leadership.

Other options include following in the footsteps of the Texas governor, pursuing her first passion- as GM of Alaska's first NHL Hockey franchise. And as America's first Political Idol' she might hold her own on a TV talk show.

Make no mistake- we are talking about a career woman here. We haven't yet seen the last of Sarah Palin.

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