Rundown

First up, remember those horrible targets Palin put on that poster? Yeah, apparently, it's not a new concept:


You can't even call those surveyor symbols. More information on these images here.

Virginia Governor Bob McConnell does a little backpedaling:
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McDonnell also said he would welcome former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin (R) to Virginia to campaign on behalf of the state's congressional candidates this year.

"I have a great deal of respect for Sarah Palin,'' McDonnell said. "I thought she added a great deal of energy to the Republican ticket with John McCain. She's a principled conservative. She's not afraid to say some tough things."

McDonnell again denied that he did not want the former vice presidential candidate to come to Virginia to campaign on his behalf last year. "I think you've got that wrong,'' he said. "We could not get her here because she was in such demand."

Last year, Palin's spokeswoman told us that McDonnell repeatedly and personally asked her for help but then changed his mind. Palin, the spokeswoman said, still offered to come all the way up until Election Day.
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Uh-huh. Got our eye on you, Bobby.

And aaaah, feel that? A breeze of tolerance from the Left:

Um, one thing Monica, she was elected Governor once, not twice. But she got more done in two and a half years than most get done in two terms. And yes, Go, Sarah, Go!

And Palin wants the RNC to take her name off of a poster advertising an RNC fundraiser that she will not be attending. Info here.

And she had a few choice words for the President's new proposal:
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Stall, Baby, Stall [Sarah Palin]

Many Americans fear that President Obama’s new energy proposal is once again “all talk and no real action,” this time in an effort to shore up fading support for the Democrats’ job-killing cap-and-trade (a.k.a. cap-and-tax) proposals. Behind the rhetoric lie new drilling bans and leasing delays; soon to follow are burdensome new environmental regulations. Instead of “drill, baby, drill,” the more you look into this the more you realize it’s “stall, baby, stall.”

Today the president said he’ll “consider potential areas for development in the mid and south Atlantic and the Gulf of Mexico, while studying and protecting sensitive areas in the Arctic.”

As the former governor of one of America’s largest energy-producing states, a state oil and gas commissioner, and chair of the nation’s Interstate Oil and Gas Conservation Commission, I’ve seen plenty of such studies. What we need is action — action that results in the job growth and revenue that a robust drilling policy could provide.

And let’s not forget that while Interior Department bureaucrats continue to hold up actual offshore drilling from taking place, Russia is moving full steam ahead on Arctic drilling, and China, Russia, and Venezuela are buying leases off the coast of Cuba.

As an Alaskan, I’m especially disheartened by the new ban on drilling in parts of the 49th state and the cancellation of lease sales in the Chukchi and Beaufort seas. These areas contain rich oil and gas reserves whose development is key to our country’s energy security.

As I told Secretary Salazar last April, “Arctic exploration and development is a slow, demanding process. Delays or major restrictions in accessing these resources for environmentally responsible development are not in the national interest or the interests of the State of Alaska.”

I’ve got to call it like I see it: The administration’s sudden interest in offshore drilling is little more than political posturing designed to gain support for job-killing energy legislation soon to come down the pike. I’m confident that GOP senators will not take the bait.

Next week I’m headed to the Southern Republican Leadership Conference in New Orleans, where I look forward to discussing what “Drill, baby, drill” really means.
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Is it a coincidence that her remarks to Salazar last April are the featured videos on her You Tube channel? I think not. And I love that she throws all of her credentials on this issue into the mix.

And now for one of my favorite articles of the day, by Dan Calabrese:
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Now that Sarah Palin has done what she said long ago she would do – show up and campaign for John McCain’s re-election to the U.S. Senate – conservative activists are beside themselves trying to come to terms with this seeming head-explosion-inducing event.

An interesting debate has begun on HotAir, with Green Room blogger CK MacLeod arguing that Palin really and truly prefers McCain to his primary challenger, “true conservative” hero J.D. Hayworth, while his colleague, MadisonConservative, argues that if Palin really does prefer McCain (which he seems to doubt), then she isn’t a real conservative.

I think MacLeod has the better argument when it comes to understanding how Palin thinks. Palin does what Palin wants to do. Constantly looking for some sort of self-serving, cynical motive, or trying to find some sort of deep, hidden meaning to everything will lead you nowhere where Palin is concerned. This is one of the reasons Palin’s admirers like her.

But MadisonConservative is also twisting himself in knots jumping into the currently in-vogue hunt for the “true conservative,” particularly his lament that Palin, by endorsing McCain, may be proving herself not to be one.

Here is the problem with the never-ending and fruitless quest for the “true conservative”: It is an impossible journey.

First, no one is empowered to make a rule book that spells out exactly what a true conservative is. Are there 50 issue positions with which you must agree with no fewer than 47? Are some of those positions non-negotiable? Can your three free points of apostasy include, say, support for mohair subsidies, but never a departure from movement orthodoxy on abortion or taxes?

What if someone takes all the right public stands, but shows signs of being an idiot? What if you worry that he will be ineffective in public office? Do you have to vote for him anyway because he is a “true conservative”? If you don’t, are you required to turn in your own card?

Is Paul Ryan a true conservative? He voted for that stupid 90 percent bailout tax. Is Dick Cheney a true conservative? He favors gay marriage. In the McCain/Hayworth race, one of the candidates has a sterling record opposing earmarks. Are you sure you can guess which one?

It’s not such a bad thing, you know, for a political movement to have a few voices of dissent in the ranks. Sometimes groupthink takes hold even among the smartest of people, and it’s useful to have some dude off in the corner asking, “Have you guys really thought this through?”

A few months ago, I stopped labeling myself as a “conservative” columnist at The North Star National, not because my views have changed, but because I got tired of people telling me I’m not a “true conservative,” because if I was, I would say this or that, or I would write about this or that differently, or I would pay more attention to this person or that issue, or I would read this or that book.

Fine. I guess I’m not a “true conservative.” I’m not really trying to be anyway. I just write what I think. If you disagree, fine with me. Takes all kinds. If I don’t fit your ideological club, I don’t care.

The same applies with Sarah Palin. She should endorse who she wants, not because she’s trying to be a conservative, but because she’s being herself. If you think that’s conservative, fine. If you don’t, who cares? She is a person with great skills, great integrity and an exceptional understanding of the issues facing this country. I have no idea if she wants to run for president, but I want to see her influence grow, because it is good influence, and she accomplishes good things.

If all that is now worth nothing to you because she endorsed John McCain, whom you see as a dastardly RINO and the enemy of conservatism . . . your loss.

I bet you’re a hell of a lot of fun to hang around with.
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As for the Cool J thing, apparently the Real American Stories idea is a couple years old, but it never went anywhere until Palin expressed an interest in it. So they dusted off this interview with Cool J, but he must not be Palin's biggest fan, so he got ticked off about it. Fox said, whatever, man. Your loss. Bye.