There's Only One Story This Week

Man, weren't those the days:

The Colbert Report	Mon - Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30c
Sarah Palin for VP
www.colbertnation.com
Colbert Report Full Episodes Political Humor Jeff Goldblum

It's kind of hard to believe now, but for the first four days of her time in the national spotlight Sarah Palin's primary task was to appeal to disenchanted female Hillary Clinton supporters, the Debbie Bartosheviches of the world. And at first it appeared to work. Then when news of her daughter's pregnancy came out and she became a culture war lightning rod, her roll as GOP envoy to soccer moms everywhere promptly ended and she became the McCain campaign's main instrument to rally its base. In other words, she was put on the ticket to be a uniter, but in short order became a divider.

Sometimes I wonder what would have happened if Palin would have continued her outreach to women instead of being absorbed by the cultural conservative wing of the GOP. It might have mitigated the hit the McCain ticket took once the economy started to slump. Then again, maybe not. One thing is for sure: Palin made the transition from olive branch to pit bull seamlessly and almost overnight: here's her introduction in Dayton, Ohio and here's her famous speech in Minneapolis all of a week later, and her relationship to the women she was supposed to help attract has never been the same.

Until this weekend, we haven't mentioned since before the inauguration, but this week is probably going to be all Palin, all the time ... you know, just to make up for lost time.