Soap Opera Sarah

Palin's family woes weigh down her political future

Can a week go by without some soap-opera theatrics coming from Sarah Palin's camp?  Evidently not. This week, Palin supporters are upset about the perceived snub by former presidential candidate, Sen. John McCain. On "The Tonight Show Monday, McCain listed current leading GOP governors

"We have, I'm happy to say, a lot of voices out there," McCain told host Jay Leno before listing Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal, Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty, Utah Gov. John Huntsman, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, and Florida Gov. Charlie Crist.

"There are a lot of governors out there who are young and dynamic," said the Arizona senator.

 Oops! Can you guess who got left out? You betcha! 

Criticism of McCain's comments are particularly fierce at TeamSarah.org, a blogging Web site for Palin supporters.

"McCain, who screwed up his campaign by not voting against the bailout, can't mention Sarah's name on Leno? It hurts the party and it makes him look bad by dissing her a 3rd time," wrote one blogger. "Maybe it's a good thing he didn't become president."

Can you really blame McCain for "forgetting" Palin? 

The other news this week involved Palin's sister-in-law -- who was charged in a burglary.

Last week, it was Palin's spokesperson going after Levi Johnston -- the governor's won't-be-son-in-law-but-still-father-of-her-grandson following Levi's appearance on the Tyra Banks show.  

Every family has skeletons in its closet -- and political families are no different, to which Billy Carter and Roger Clinton can attest. But, it seems like Alaska has produced a never-ending number of storylines connected to the governor. And, it's not all the media's fault: Palin, for example, could have directed her spokesperson to come up with a statement that wouldn't have added fuel to the Hatfield-McCoy nature of the Palin's relationship to the Johnston clan.  

Is it any wonder that rumors are starting to circulate that the GOP is just about ready to move on from the Palin saga?   

Geez, it's pretty clear why CBS canceled "The Guiding Light" after 72 years: Politics provides all the soap opera people need these days. 

Robert A. George is a New York writer. He blogs at Ragged Thots.

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