THE REAL SAM'S CLUB REPUBLICAN:

Palin's good for women - and not because she is one (S.E. CUPP, August 29th 2008, NY Daily News)

For the sake of this argument, let's pretend the attractive mother of five isn't a woman, and let's call her Sam.

Sam Palin has impeccable conservative credentials. He's a reformer, he's pro-life, he's for small and effective government and he's for drilling domestically, even if it's in his own state. He supports capital punishment and opposes same-sex marriage. He shocked eco-activists looking to put polar bears on the endangered species list by revealing that in his state, the population has actually risen. He's forceful with big oil companies, but, like McCain, wants to address climate change in serious ways.

Furthermore, he's likable. He's a family man. Sam hunts. Sam fishes. He plays with his kids, one of whom has Down syndrome.

And he was elected governor of Alaska as an antidote to government corruption and fiscal irresponsibility. He's found creative ways to bring money to his state (he sold a private jet belonging to the state on eBay for $2.7 million), and made $237 million in budget cuts.

Though he's only been governor for two years, he served as a mayor and city councilman since 1992. And of the three candidates on these national tickets - McCain, Barack Obama and Joe Biden - he's the only one to actually have run anything. Sam's been successful as a businessman, a mayor and a governor. He brings youth and an everyman appeal to the ticket, he softens McCain and he appeals to the conservative base.