For my story last Sunday, I did a piece on the health care reform debate. In the course of it, I took a look at local Congressman Todd Platts' campaign contributions, via the Website www.OpenSecrets.org, which is run by the non-partisan Center for Responsive Politics.
Well, my weekend is over. (I work a Sunday through Thursday shift.) I guess I might as well weigh on on Sarah Palin's decision to step down as governor.
So was her decision made as advance preparation for a presidential run? It's possible. She referred to a "higher calling," and it seems unlikely that she intends to enter a nunnery.
I'm reluctant to speculate, though. Like calculus and fashion sense, I tend to write the whole Sarah Palin phenomenon off as one of those things that's just beyond my power to comprehend.
I found it utterly baffling when John McCain selected her as a running mate. She seemed patently unqualified for the position.
Equally baffling is my inability to simply write it off as a bad decision on McCain's part. During the campaign, when I spoke to local Republicans, I found that they really liked her.
A lot of them told me they intended to hold their noses and vote for McCain, but they were genuinely enthusiastic about Palin. They seemed to embrace her as one of their own to an extent that just never happened with McCain.
