The Palin Trap

More than 80% of CNN viewers of the Vice Presidential debate said Governor Palin exceeded their expectations with her performance. I, too, thought Governor Palin's folksy charm did, at the very least, no harm to the McCain campaign. While not always answering the questions as asked (an old political trick on both sides of the aisle), she, for the most part, was poised, genuine and coherent. (That Joe Biden did better in these areas and many others was to be expected, since he has spent longer than "five weeks" considering the Vice Presidency.)

Why, I thought, is she so much more comfortable and successful speaking on a national stage than in one-on-one conversations, like those with Katie Couric and Charlie Gibson? Then, it hit me.

It's the hair.

Until last night, I never seriously entertained the possibility that there may be two Sarah Palins. But, the evidence is becoming difficult to ignore.

How else to explain the 'Sarah' who failed to name one single, solitary newspaper or magazine she reads or any Supreme Court decision with which she disagrees being the same Sarah who competently discussed kitchen-table economics alongside a long-term Senator?

Clearly, there are two of them: one stout Sarah Palin and one spunky twin sister (Tara?), a la The Parent Trap. Call it, The Palin Trap.

Here's how to tell the difference: The real Sarah wears her hair down. Her playfully ignorant twin, Tara, wears it up. Together, they're aiming to confound the American public just enough with their charming hijinks to bring East and West together in a marriage of Joe Six-Pack harmony.

Sooner or later, we'll have to unswitch them, of course. Hopefully, before Tara is alone in the situation room, confusing the big red button with the Staples Easy Button.