Let's wander up to our Northernmost state for a look at what Republicans in Alaska are saying about their Governor's selection to be the Republican Vice Presidential nominee in 2008. The reactions are hardly ringing endorsements.
The Anchorage Daily News has a lead story in today's edition that covers this story.
State Senate President Lyda Green said she thought it was a joke when someone called her at 6 a.m. to give her the news.
"She's not prepared to be governor. How can she be prepared to be vice president or president?" said Green, a Republican from Palin's hometown of Wasilla. "Look at what she's done to this state. What would she do to the nation?"
There's an interesting background to Green's pointed remarks. Green opposed Palin's efforts to increase taxes on oil companies, which was a move that Palin pushed through the Alaska legislature with the help of Democrats. It seems that Green's main complaint about the tax increase is that it wasn't a conservative position. Palin, however, probably saw the populist side of it. The tax has created a windfall in revenues for the state. The excess revenues are going to be returned to the residents of Alaska, to the tune of about $1,200 per person. Imagine the howl and cry from the right if Obama had made any type of similar proposal.
But the negative reaction from conservative Alaksa pols doesn't end with Lyda Green. Andrew Halcro, who was a Republican but ran as an independent against Palin in the 2006 Gubernatorial race, offered this back handed praise:
"You really have to have a high level of respect for Gov. Palin in the sense that she has this real ability to connect with people. And suddenly people don't think about health care, they don't think about the economy, they don't think about whatever else, education," said Halcro, a self-described wonk. "It's not about the policy. It's about the person."
Palin always saw that, he said.
"It'll be interesting to see if that recipe works on the national stage," Halcro said.
Her candidacy will be better served if it's more about the person than her extreme policy positions. That of course doesn't say anything about the frightening prospects if she were in fact to become President upon the untimely demise of a President McCain.
But this might be the most disturbing reaction of a GOP pol:
The early morning news of McCain's pick sent jaws dropping throughout Alaska, with friends waking up friends with "Oh my God, have you heard?" phone calls.
State House Speaker John Harris, a Republican from Valdez, was astonished at the news. He didn't want to get into the issue of her qualifications.
"She's old enough," Harris said. "She's a U.S. citizen."
That ringing endorsement makes me feel a whole lot better.