Seems this is the year of the God-fearing, gun-toting, gutsy woman (GFGTGW). First we had Hillary on the campaign trail conveying that image, more or less depending on whose votes she was trying to win at the time. Then, after Obama snubbed her when picking his sidekick, McCain picked the Mother of all GFGTGW, Sarah Palin, as his running mate.

Respectfully, Sarah gave Hillary credit for all those cracks she put in the "glass ceiling" (while aiming at ducks?). While the two have much in common, there are some notable differences. For example, I can't picture Sarah posing in front of the cameras in a tavern drinking whiskey with beer chasers, as Hillary did, in an effort to get the barfly vote. While Hillary perhaps gained a few extra votes and gave a boost to the alcohol and pub industries, Sarah would likely be more conscious of the example she would be setting for young people.

Of course the big issue that divides Sarah and Hillary is abortion. Sarah is pro-life, which is why she has been attacked by shrieking, antiquated feminists such as Gloria Steinem. If only Sarah supported the right to kill unborn babies with impunity, they wouldn't care who or why or how many government employees she fired in Alaska; furthermore, they wouldn't care if she chopped off their heads and danced on their graves wearing the skins of slain Polar Bears. For many, but not all, Hillary supporters, abortion trumps every other issue. That's why Hillary's husband got a pass on sexual harassment; he was willing to do whatever the abortophiles told him to do, even vetoing a bipartisan bill that would have banned partial birth abortions.

Because Sarah is a genuine God-fearing, gun-toting, gutsy woman, even when not running for office, the hardcore Left hates her. But for the rest of us, she is a refreshing alternative to politics as usual. For example, she exposed members of her own party for having too-cozy relationships with the oil industry they were supposed to be monitoring. That's one of the reasons she has over an 80 percent approval rating among all voters in Alaska even while some elitists in her own party disapprove of her. She put the interests of the people she was elected to represent over the interests of the entrenched powercrats. That's the type of represenation we need in Washington.

So, while I cannot visualize her accepting a campaign contribution from Planned Parenthood, or bellying up to the bar for a photo-op, I can picture Mrs. Palin barging in on a secret meeting between Chris Dodd, Barack Obama, and some of their crony contributors in the banking industry, and sternly yanking each senator by an ear -- "Oh no you don't, not on my watch!"