by Sati Malik

Created on: December 07, 2008   Last Updated: December 19, 2008

When Sarah Palin burst onto the stage at the Republican National Convention on September 3, 2008 she struck all the right chords. In the wake of the demise of Hillary Clinton - a stinging blow to feminism - she picked up the hammer that supposedly made "18 million cracks" in the proverbial "glass ceiling" blocking womens' way to the White House: "The women of America aren't finished yet," she proclaimed, "and we can shatter that glass ceiling once and for all." Later, with a keen sense of timing, she beguiled sports activity moms everywhere by describing "hockey moms" as "bulldogs" wearing lipstick. To top it all off the gal was a stone-cold social conservative: anti-abortion, anti-gay marriage, pro-drilling in Alaska and pro-hunting. For a few weeks Palin paradoxically made up for McCain's two key shortcomings: lack of sex appeal and disconnection from the prudish party base.

And the public ate her up. A Rasmussen Reports national phone survey done following Palin's acceptance speech found that 58% of American voters had a favorable opinion of her. At that point she was more popular than either Obama or McCain.

But, as summer ended, the red heat Palin fanned over "Blue America" began to cool. The gun-toting Republican with shapely calfs began looking more like Dorothy from an arctic Kansas: as she gazed at her newly-minted passport, someone had to tell her that she couldn't be "Ambassador to Africa"; and that anyone phoning her with a French accent wasn't verifiably the President of France; and that seeing Russia from her house didn't qualify her in foreign affairs. Believe it or not, Sarah Palin is not related to actor Michael Palin from the British comedy Monty Python - her's was a comedy of errors.

As things worsened, that "bridge to nowhere" Palin ostensibly lobbied for as governor was surely no "yellow brick road"; it was a dangerous implication of corruption. It didn't help her cause that she ran up more than $150,000 in clothing bills. And her husband seemed like "Joe the Plumber" living off the government dole.

The image Palin conjured up of Obama as a "terrorist community organizer" didn't help her cause; it seemed at once fear mongering and condescending. It was so off-putting that Obama hasn't offered her a job in his upcoming administration. And that's sayin' something!

Vice Presidential gaffs, nevertheless, seem to come with the job description. Upon reflection, Palin's don't even compare to the best hits. Remember Bush Senior's VP? Dan Quayle once

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