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Wonderful piece, and I loved this in particular:

Someone said Obama has had a bad few days. Actually, he's had a bad few months. He peaked before Hillary Clinton got out of the race in June and, with a few exceptions, has stagnated or trended lower in most polls ever since.

Yet he might have had enough money and charisma to pull it off in a Democratic year against the admirable-but-beatable John McCain. The 72-year-old McCain knew as much, which is why he reached into his maverick bag and pulled out Palin.

Bingo. Palin has energized Republicans, attracted independent voters and white women to the McCain ticket and replaced Obama as the fresh face. To say Dems haven't figured her out understates their cultural disconnect. They still haven't figured out why Ronald Reagan beat Walter Mondale and President Bush beat John Kerry.