I hope after this column, the Villagers will get together and understand like we do that it's time for Broder to hang up his column.

Blessed with an enthusiastic audience of conservative activists, Palin used the Tea Party gathering and coverage on the cable networks to display the full repertoire she possesses, touching on national security, economics, fiscal and social policy, and every other area where she could draw a contrast with Barack Obama and point up what Republicans see as vulnerabilities in Washington.

Her invocation of "conservative principles and common-sense solutions" was perfectly conventional. What stood out in the eyes of TV-watching pols of both parties was the skill with which she drew a self-portrait that fit not just the wishes of the immediate audience but the mood of a significant slice of the broader electorate.

Freed of the responsibilities she carried as governor of Alaska, devoid of any official title but armed with regular gigs on Fox News Channel and more speaking invitations than she can fulfill, Palin is perhaps the most visible Republican in the land.

More important, she has locked herself firmly in the populist embrace that every skillful outsider candidate from George Wallace to Jimmy Carter to Ronald Reagan to Bill Clinton has utilized when running against "the political establishment."

Palin was terrible in the general election because of McCain and Bush. Wait, did he just blame Bush for Palin's failures? Then he continues. Was he watching the same speech that we were?

Palin's final answer to Wallace showed how perfectly she has come to inhabit that part. When he asked her what role she wants to play in the country's future, she said:

"First and foremost, I want to be a good mom, and I want to raise happy, healthy, independent children. And I want them to be good citizens of this great country.

"And then I do want to be a voice for some common-sense solutions. I'm never going to pretend like I know more than the next person. I'm not going to pretend to be an elitist. In fact, I'm going to fight the elitist, because for too often and for too long now, I think the elitists have tried to make people like me and people in the heartland of America feel like we just don't get it, and big government's just going to have to take care of us. "I want to speak up for the American people and say: No, we really do have some good common-sense solutions. I can be a messenger for that. Don't have to have a title to do it. This is a pitch-perfect recital of the populist message that has worked in campaigns past. There are times when the American people are looking for something more: for an Eisenhower, who liberated Europe; an FDR or a Kennedy or a Bush, all unashamed aristocrats; or an Obama, with eloquence and brains.

There's more to the column so finish it up on the WaPo site. Her answers were devoid of any true substance and were nothing more than canned responses targeted for the pro-conspiracy theory-anti-government crowd to attack the president with her common sense approach to politics. Is he kidding me? I honestly watched her highly paid performance at the teabagger convention to see how much she has improved since Roger Ailes decided to give her some much needed training on FOX News so he can see if she's got what it takes. I've been checking her out and did notice a slight improvement as far as her giving shorter responses to the FOX friendly hosts when she appears, but this speech was a mess. I don't reflexively dismiss her because she's Bill Kristol's Dan Quayle project that finally took hold and is very popular with the extreme right wing base. The fact that she's a quitter doesn't bug David either.

My eyes are really starting to bother me since I spend so much time in front of a computer monitor and my hi-def television that C&L demands and I think there are a few things that are getting to Broder as well. I'm sure his health care plan covers psychiatric visits too.