Why Won't Sarah Palin Go Away?

She lost an election, she quit her job midterm, so now she's just another celebrity with a book

Sarah Palin: Why won't she just go the hell away?
—JYLynn, via Twitter

Her lingering corpse does seem odd, given she was slaughtered during the election, then drawn and quartered by the media after she left gubernatorial office—midway through her term—in Alaska.

At this point, Sarah Palin's just another celebrity shilling a book, right? So why does she seem like so much more? Well...

She's no ordinary D-lister with a big mouth. She's an ordinary D-lister with a huge mouth, a mouth that knows exactly how to make people look, and keep looking, regardless of real substance.

Although she has no job (other than speaking engagements, which usually stem from, you know, a job) and no declared future goals (2012 presidential elections aren't on the "radar," tee hee!), she has skillfully milked her past to keep people interested. Really interested. And mostly female conservative people.

"Palin is expanding her reach, because many women relate to what is seen as a raw deal Palin received from the McCain team" during the 2008 presidential election, says Jamie Miller, a political consultant who specializes in Republican women.

"So they are willing to take a second look at her while she is on her book tour."

Hence Palin's appearance on Oprah, who has played host to a ton of he-done-hurt-me guest stars.

And "McCain's mean!" isn't the only spin Palin has managed in recent months. People are also obsessed with her because—despite some stretched facts in her new book—her self-styled image campaign as a "maverick" is working. Denizens of Palin Country see her as an honest, folksy leader who will forge a new future for America...somehow...someday.

"People think Sarah Palin will really challenge politics," says former N.J. State Senator Alene S. Ammond, who was a Democrat and is now Independent. "It's not because she doesn't having anything going on now, it's about what they think she will do in the future."

We shouldn't ignore the media in all this, either. They breathlessly report everything she says and does, inflating her status so much you'd think she's actually running for office—or dating Jon Gosselin.

There's the Palin-as-political-trainwreck angle, the Palin-for-2012 angle, the Palin-victim-of-sexism angle or the Levi-Johnston's-johnson angle, take your pick. The more the media reports on Palin, the bigger she gets, at least, in her own mind.

Finally, Palin is giving people what they really want, and it isn't her opinion on the capital gains tax.

"She's the Real Housewives of New Jersey of politics," political consultant Eric Schmeltzer tells me.

"She knows controversy feeds the news, gets attention. She might say she wants the media to stay away from her kids, but she puts them front and center. It's all about the persona of Palin, and people watch and pay attention to see what she'll say or do next that's juicy."

Oh. You betcha.