Palin's Frigid Homecoming

Not only did the 2008 presidential campaign take Sarah Palin out of Wasilla, but it also may have taken the Wasilla out of Sarah Palin: According to The Washington Post, Palin is finding herself at odds with her home state as Alaskan officials worry she has her eyes on the national stage rather than local affairs. One legislator claims Palin looked "ill at ease, more defensive than we've been accustomed to seeing her," at a retreat with a bipartisan group of state senators, after the governor claimed, "I feel like you guys are always trying to put me on the spot," when asked of upcoming proposals. She has been hesitant to give interviews, and anger still lingers among some over her role in the McCain campaign, although she remains favored by 60 percent of the Alaskan electorate. One GOP strategist praises Palin's ability to draw crowds, but also says, "there is a lack of gravity to her that has hurt… She should try to disappear for a while and be an indisputably effective governor." Her 18-year-old daughter Bristol made headlines this week after claiming that teaching abstinence in schools, an agenda her mother supports, is "not realistic at all."