What I got from this piece. The author discovered much to his surprise and chagrin, that he likes Sarah Palin, he really, really likes her. The writer is sophisticated enough to know how celebrities operate, he knew she was working her magic, but he fell for it anyway. I think this was a good contact for her, a good way to widen the circle of friends from foreign lands. Yes, Canada does count as foreign. Sarah was in her element!
Um. Not quite. In the final couple of sentences, he comments on her charm, but says he knows it's just manipulation. Of course he would think that, because, I'm guessing, all of the people HE supports ARE master manipulators, so he assumes every politician, or former politician, is, as well.