Oh, come on, Richie - even Bush answered that question without batting an eyelid - and he wasn't known for being a great handler of interviews (believe me, I remember all the Bush Gaffes websites). It was a *softball* by any measure.

And you demonstrate my *exact* problem with Palin supporters. Yeah, I read the text from the Paul Revere Heritage site. Only the most twisted, upside-down interpretation of the letters from Revere could be interpreted that way.

He was going out to warn the COLONISTS. When the soldiers captured him, he *did* - AT GUNPOINT - telling them that the militia was gathering. There were no ringing of bells and it was NEVER his intent to warn the SOLIDERS. I have to tell you - I would have given anything to hear what her reaction would have been in that store to a quesiton like "What about Prescott and Dawes?".

She took an innocent question about her impressions of Boston and tried to re-frame it into a political speech - just like she did on her reality show trying to equate the behavior of bears to certain voters.

Don't get me wrong - I'm not a Palin hater. I think it took a lot of guts and skill to do what she did in Alaska in taking on the oil companies. This woman is NOT without skills. She's a FANTASTIC actor, if you believe the people who worked the campaign with her. She was overloaded with a blizzard of information that she had almost NO time to digest. It doesn't mean she's a bad person - just that she was not YET qualified for the #2 job in the country.

My *personal* opinion is that she got caught up in the new political methodology of "never admit when you're wrong" and "spin, spin, spin". And let's not forget that some people CAN have success go to their heads. I mean - you saw the crowds out there ADORING her, yes? You have to be a certain kind of person for that to NOT have an effect on you.