Sarah Palin

Even though Sarah Palin had nothing to do with the shooting of Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, the infamous target map will forever link her. Last Saturday's horror may be for Sarah Palin what Chappaquiddick was for Teddy Kennedy — forfeiture of any hope of becoming president. I watched as much of Palin's televised remarks as I could stomach. What could have been an opportunity to show compassion only disintegrated into more of the same old Sarah. Ms. Palin has created an image. Her "brand" is the American Wild West.

New federal figures show a 4 percent drop in the number of vehicle miles driven over the last year. Are you driving less than you did a year ago? Yes 64% No 34% Not sure 2% (708 votes, results not scientific) Next poll: : Do you think Sarah Palin, who announced last week she is planning to resign as governor of Alaska, has a future in national politics? Vote at baltimoresun.com/vote

Your articles "Sarah Palin gets it right" and "Why the GOP fields looks so weak" (May 31) both omitted Gary Johnson, former Governor of New Mexico, who has announced his candidacy for president and is currently campaigning in New Hampshire. He appeared on the Sean Hannity Show on Fox last week. Anne Lee

Wow, President Obama's speech at the Tucson memorial service must have hit home. The Sun didn't blame the floods in Australia and the mudslides in Brazil on the GOP and Sarah Palin. Keep up the good work. You may yet become unbiased and unvitriolic. Lyle Rescott, Marriottsville

I agree with your reader from Cockeysville that op-ed contributor Charlotte Allen's piece on Sarah Palin's 2016 presidential prospects was hilarious ("Palin for president? Very funny," Nov. 28). It was almost as funny as the list of President Obama's qualifications to be commander in chief. Missed that list? Yeah, I didn't see it either. Probably because he has no qualifications to run this country. David Haubner, Parkville

The good folks at Public Policy Polling decided to use their valuable time conducting a presidential poll including Charlie Sheen . Yes, he of Adonis DNA and tiger blood.  Even though it's been widely misreported that Sheen won matchups against both President Barack Obama and Sarah Palin, that's not true. He lost soundly. "Sheen's unpopularity is pretty universal across party lines," the pollsters concluded. (Which is shocking to anyone following his Twitter feed.

I was all set to talk about Jeremy Guthrie and how he might be the biggest steal since the Louisiana Purchase when John McCain's choice for vice president leaked out. ... Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, a gun-toting, former beauty queen officially becomes the first vice presidential candidate I've had a crush on since Walter Mondale. I mean, Dick Cheney is an attractive man, but has he ever been on the cover of Vogue? This is a big coup for the GOP, which has been looking for a VP who can hunt without hurting anyone.

Arizona Republican congressman Ben Quayle, son of former Vice President Dan Quayle, made his standup comedy debut at the Congressional Correspondents' Dinner yesterday. He roasted Politico, Newt Gingrich, Dick Cheney, Tim Pawlenty, Joe Biden, Sarah Palin and even his father. I thought the jokes about Gingrich's flip-flopping and Pawlenty's irrelevancy were funny, but many of the lines fell flat.   On the whole, it's nice to see a politician with a sense of humor. It's an example many of the others -- who take themselves way too seriously -- could learn from.     

It's Obama who lacks executive experience Thomas F. Schaller, The Baltimore Sun's cookie-cutter liberal columnist, took Sen. John McCain to task for his choice of Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin as his running mate ("Dems, don't take the bait," Commentary, Sept. 3). According to Mr. Schaller, the message of the Palin choice "is that Mr. McCain is more worried about losing this November than leaving the country in untested hands, were he to win the election and at some point either die or resign."