Sarah Palin: Rogue Warrior

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The disaster movie 2012 topped the box office last week, meaning there are people out there who would pay good money to watch a special-effects version of Earth being destroyed.  Which brings us to Sarah Palin . . .

The former Alaskan governor and Senator John McCain's 2008 vice-presidential running mate is currently on a book tour, granting interviews to Oprah Winfrey and Barbara Walters, in support of her tome "Going Rogue: An American Life".  It is already a best-seller, available at your favorite bookseller.  Most of the reputable political pundits are seeing this as the opening salvo to Palin's 2012 presidential campaign.

For those of you who have no intention of reading the book (like me), here's some highlights according to those who already have read it: 

• Palin disses the McCain campaign for not letting her do her own thing, such as being allowed to speak after the Arizona senator conceded the election to Barack Obama.  An indication, perhaps, that she was becoming a liability on the ticket?
• She discusses the CBS interview with Katie Couric, which made her look like a deer in the headlights.
• She also expressed surprise that daughter Bristol's pregnancy was discovered by the McCain campaign just in time for the Republican National Convention.  Baby daddy Levi Johnston, who had broken up with Bristol, can now be found showing himself off--so to speak--as a Playgirl magazine model.

No mention is made, of course, about the state of Alaska's investigation into alleged corruption charges involving Palin, or the real reason why she suddenly resigned as Governor in July.  If you're going to run for higher political office, shouldn't you have a fallback job in case you lose?

Palin may be the best-known--and most attractive (nice cover, Newsweek)--Republican in the country right now, but that doesn't mean people want her as president.  Not only is she in the middle of the pack in most polls among GOP contenders, but she's also getting low marks for trustworthiness.  And her conservative positions might force the other candidates to tack even more to the right, which is not what the Republicans need to reclaim their relevancy to voters.

So what about 2012?  Palin's been dodging that question, but consider this:  John Kennedy, Jimmy Carter and Barack Obama were all published authors before they went to the White House.  None of them, however, were Oprah's Book Club selections.

And what if Palin were elected in 2012?  Would California fall into the ocean?  Would the Rockies crumble?  Would New York be submerged by a tsunami?  Would humankind survive?  Or have we been watching too many disaster movies?