WHAT?  SHE SPEAKS?

Posted at 3:02 p.m. ET

There is shock and dismay in the media world today as it was learned that Sarah Palin actually speaks, and can do so without a script.   Reports say that Charlie Gibson has reevaluated his life and cleaned his glasses, and that Katie Couric has promised a demeanor as humble as her ratings.

But, 'tis true.  The Alaska governor has been speaking out, without her minders from the McCain staff.  And you know, the woman is coherent, intelligent and makes a lot of sense.  It won't convince anyone at Yale, but America may see a lot more of her, and may like what they see.  The Politico reports:

“I think the Republican ticket represented too much of the status quo, too much of what had gone on in these last eight years, that Americans were kind of shaking their heads like going, wait a minute, how did we run up a $10 trillion debt in a Republican administration? How have there been blunders with war strategy under a Republican administration?” Palin said.

Okay, maybe she should polish up the grammar, but she makes more sense than a lot of the Ph.D's who are teaching our kids.

Looking back on the race, the Alaska governor said that she was “frustrated” by misinformation spread about her, especially related to her family.

“Some of the goofy things, like who was Trig's mom. Well, I'm Trig's mom, and do you want to see my medical records to prove that? And banning books. That was a ridiculous thing also that could have so easily been corrected just by a reporter taking an extra step and not basing a report on gossip or speculation,” Palin said.

“Just looking into the record. It was reported that I tried to ban Harry Potter when it hadn't even been written when I was the mayor. So, gosh, we have so many examples, I mean every day, especially the first few weeks, every day something that was thrown out there.”

I'm glad to see she's finally fighting back.  She will probably do a book, and I'd imagine it will be a major seller.  Maybe the defeat was a blessing in disguise, although, as Churchill said after his 1945 loss, the disguise is very thick indeed.

Asked about running for the Republican nomination in 2012, the Alaska governor seemed cool to the prospect, pointing out that current polling showing favorable prospects in a potential GOP primary field are likely to shift.

“Look how fickle poll numbers are,” Palin said. “Look where I've gone, up and down, up and down, even in the state of Alaska the last couple of months. We can't pay attention to those numbers.”

Everything will depend on how well Obama does, and how Palin performs as governor and media star over the next four years.  She is not permitting herself to be punched into submission, and that is good.

November 10, 2008.