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Palin appeared on the show in the aftermath of a premeditated campaign of character assassination, and the show was likely enough to appeal to those most likely to be in sympathy with her should she decide to run for office in the future: working- and middle-class families with outdoorsy tastes.

That is all well and good. That doesn't mean she couldn't have told TLC that she didn't want to appear with an idiot like Kate Gosselin and her eight kids. That turned the whole program into ploy to get ratings by any means necessary.

Can you imagine Ronald Reagan doing something like that in the late 1970s?

And all that publicity, not only at no cost to Sarah Palin, but apparently putting money in her pocket: I have read she was paid $1 million / episode.

If her goal was making money, fine. But, don't pretend all that isn't going to be a weapon used like a sledgehammer against her if she decides to run.

And it will likely backfire on whosoever may try it.

Palin is going for the box office, not the critics.

And the kind who would sniff at having Gosselin on board, likely wouldn't vote for Palin anyway.

All the neutral and leaning GOP will likely blow that off.

Cheers!

If her goal was making money, fine. But, don't pretend all that isn't going to be a weapon used like a sledgehammer against her if she decides to run.

All the candidates have book deals.

So what that she made the Alaska TV show during what would have been her summer vacation. That is just a small sample of what she has accomplished since she resigned.

More importantly, Palin has been leading the fight, wielding the "sledgehammer", against Obama and the Democrats over the last 18 months, in speeches, in TV appearances, on the internet, and with endorsements for candidates in the last election cycle. She also made appearances for the Arizona Illegal Immigration Bill and the Wisconsin Anti Union Bill while all the others, for example Rick Perry, ran in the other direction. I could go on.

And as far as you guessing what Palin's goal was, why are you guessing? Here's what Palin stated.

PALIN:Productive, fulfilled people determine where to put their efforts, choosing to wisely utilize precious time... to BUILD UP. And there is such a need to BUILD up and FIGHT for our state and our country. I choose to FIGHT for it! And I'll work hard for others who still believe in free enterprise and smaller government; strong national security for our country and support for our troops; energy independence; and for those who will protect freedom and equality and LIFE... I'll work for and campaign for those PROUD to be American, and those who are INSPIRED by our ideals and won't deride them. I WILL support others who seek to serve, in or out of office, for the RIGHT reasons, and I don't care what party they're in or no party at all. Inside Alaska – or Outside Alaska.

I think she has lived up to her stated goal and I'm glad she made the move.

And if she chooses to run for president, and if it turns out that all of her activity over the last two years was in preparation for a presidential run, then the Andrew Jackson parallel holds.

Can you imagine Ronald Reagan doing something like that in the late 1970s?

You just illustrated my point despite yourself.

Reagan was constantly villified and belittled as a "B" grade actor (Death Valley Days, Bedtime for Bonzo) even though it'd been more than a decade since he had filmed them.

So the attacks have and will and do go further back in the past than just ("late-70s to 1980") or the equivalent for Palin.

But -- despite the ubiquity of the attacks -- they rolled off.

People wanted America to succeed after Carter: and when Reagan's policies worked, the people said, "BFD!" to the affected criticism.

Cheers!