Nov 16 Sarah Palin And Powerline

Paul Meringoff and Scott Johnson, both terrific writers at the Powerline blog, have had a back and forth dialogue about Sarah Palin. Paul still adheres to his continuing distaste for Sarah Palin and claims, "My thesis is that the conservative vote for McCain would have been essentially the same with another conservative as it was with Palin; ...... I agree that no one else would likely have generated quite the same enthusiasm that Palin did (enthusiasm which to me sometimes bordered on the irrational)."

The ability to connect with people to generate enthusiasm and warm, personal feelings, charisma, is a rare political talent. Think of the successful politicians with great charisma: Obama, JFK, Bill Clinton, Reagan. All of them generated strong emotions, for and against. Palin clearly has some of that same, rare charisma. It is not yet apparent that it is at the same level as the superstars but she certainly has more of that rare talent than any of her competitiors for the VP slot. I believe anyone discounting that talent is wearing blinders. We should not discard an asset with such significant, potential impact.