Take her stunning loss of face, for instance, in yesterday's high-profile Congressional election in upstate New York. With Rush Limbaugh riding her coattails, Palin decided that the GOP nominee didn't have the right stuff to represent the good people in the 23rd District. The district had been sending moderate Republicans to Congress since the Civil War.
That wasn't good enough for Sarah P. Though Palin couldn't tell the difference between Saranac Lake and Moosehead Lake, she threw GOP candidate Dede Scozzafava under the bus. Why?
Dede didn't have enough red meat to throw at the tea bag crowd. Sarah squawked and conservative dollars gushed into the campaign coffers of replaced candidate Doug Hoffman, propelling him to a more than 20-point lead.
Enter the adult of the campaign, Joe Biden. The VP flew to Watertown the day before the election to address military families -- Fort Drum is the economic engine of 23. Biden chided Palin and gang for administering a loyalty oath to Scozzafava. He welcomed disenchanted moderates to back Democrat Bill Owens. "They may not have more room for moderate views in upstate New York, but we have room, we have room," Biden said.
Biden didn't ask the audience to dump the GOP: "We're not asking you to switch your party. We're just saying, join us in teaching a lesson to absolutists who come and tell us that no dissent is permitted in their own party."
Owens shellacked Hoffman by a 49 percent to 45 percent margin.
Meadwhile, Palin plods on. Here is her Facebook message: "The race for New York’s 23rd District is not over, just postponed until 2010. The issues of this election have always centered on the economy – on the need for fiscal restraint, smaller government, and policies that encourage jobs. In 2010, these issues will be even more crucial to the electorate. I commend Doug Hoffman and all the other under-dog candidates who have the courage to put themselves out there and run against the odds."
She also talked about Ronald Reagan's warning after his 1976 defeat about the danger in becoming cynical.
Palin forgets that Hoffman had a big lead until Biden spoke up against conservatives running moderates from the party. Reagan also spoke about Republicans being a "big tent party."
Palin lost round two to Biden. The lesson: it's better to have Joe in your corner than Sarah.
Good luck on your book tour, Sarah.
(Image: theModerateVoice)