Sarah Palin, the Real Thing from Alaska

At first blush Governor Sarah Palin (R-AK) seems like an unlikely choice as running mate for Sen. John McCain (R-AZ).

But then you get to watch her speak after McCain’s introduction today in Dayton, OH.

You immediately realize that she is a practiced and confident public speaker. And next you get the feeling that she likes being up on the stage. Unlike some other politicians we all know.

Then you run the YouTube session of her playing a talking head on Larry Kudlow’s cable show, and you realize that she ain’t no neophyte.

In fact, here’s a nickel that says she’s better when she’s off the prompter than the Great Orator himself.

Then there’s Fred Barnes’ report on Palin from last year, when he told the story of her remarkable rise in Alaska politics, marked by remarkable courage and willingness to take on the corrupt Republican establishment. For guys worried about her cojones:

In the roughly three years since she quit as the state’s chief regulator of the oil industry, Palin has crushed the Republican hierarchy (virtually all male) and nearly every other foe or critic. Political analysts in Alaska refer to the "body count" of Palin’s rivals. "The landscape is littered with the bodies of those who crossed Sarah," says pollster Dave Dittman, who worked for her gubernatorial campaign.

I don’t care what you say. It takes a ferocious political talent to do that.

No wonder that hard-core Republicans like me are fizzing with excitement. This babe maybe could take prisoners. After all, her nickname in high school was “Sarah Barracuda.”