Emily Greenwood: Sarah Palin, the Tactician

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Newly minted Alaskan and contributor to the American Thinker blog Emily Greenwood posts that she observed the GOP primary race for the U.S. Senate play out from a vantage point in the Murkowski stronghold of southeast Alaska. At first, Greenwood could not understand why Sarah Palin would endorse such a long shot as Joe Miller:

I was even more amazed when the Tea Party Express group earlier this summer announced its support for Miller, one of only two candidates in the nation it was actively supporting.(The other is Sharron Angle. The group is now also helping Christine O'Donnell.) Why spend scarce resources targeting Murkowski, a solid middle-of-the-road Republican, a safe bet to defeat her Democrat opponent, in a primary, instead of spending the funds on the many critical races that are already past the primary stage?

Further, Sarah Palin has made appearances at Tea Party Express events. Surely Tea Party Express intervened in Alaska only after seeking Palin's blessing and advice -- or perhaps she came to them.

This morning, Palin's political judgment is vindicated once again. This operation was a daring raid behind enemy lines. It inspirits the troops, stuns the enemy, and completely changes the battlefield, a much better use of resources than throwing them into the trench warfare of the California races. And, after taking it on the chin for supporting McCain in his primary, Palin has shown the world her true conservative colors once again.

This matters, Greenwood observes, if Gov. Palin is positioning herself for a run for the White House. The governor's decisions to back Joe Miller and persuade Tea Party Express to donate $600,000 to his campaign has convinced Greenwood that Sarah Palin's intention is be a presidential candidate in the 2012 election.

- JP