SARAH SIZZLES AGAIN - AT 10:25 A.M. ET:  Love her or loathe her, but Sarah Palin is on the speaking trail once again, and she hasn't lost her knack for firing up the base, as Ben Smith of The Politico reports:

I didn't get to this in my story on Palin's lower-48 in Seneca Falls, but she hasn't lost her ability to deliver a raw, base-riling stemwinder, and her introduction of Michael Reagan in Anchorage the other night is worth a listen (.mp3) and is currently making the rounds on the right.

She opens the introduction praising Reagan's son, a talk radio guy, for his willingness "to screw the political correctness that some would expect him to try to adhere to."

She blasts "self-proclaimed intellectuals, and the smug lobbyists who dominate Washington, and the liberal media."

And she suggests Obama is trying to impose big government as a tool of control.

COMMENT:  Look, I think Sarah Palin has some serious political problems, stemming largely from her less-than-stellar performance on the trail during the last presidential campaign.  But she also has terrific qualities.  Don't underestimate her.  She's one of the most fascinating political stories around today.

June 7, 2009