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A regular reader emails to tell me to wake up and smell the mooseburgers:

It’s easy as hell to laugh at Palin but I think Democrats are making a big mistake if they don’t start taking her much more seriously as a credible challenger to Obama. People are in a sour-as-hell mood and if the economy doesn’t pick up dramatically by 2012, Obama is going to be toast. Heaven help our Congressional majority next year.

Yes, Palin speaks in trite, childish platitudes but so do most Americans. Face it, the vast majority of our voters are not exactly rocket scientists and for many of them she will be a perfectly fine alternative to Obama.

Listen, I’m the guy who was convinced the American people would never choose the “amiable dunce” Reagan or the stupendously stupid Bush over Democrats who had IQ scores that couldn’t possibly be any less than 30 or 40 points above their opponents’.

Given the state of today’s Republican Party, I’d say Palin has an excellent shot at the nomination and if our economy still sucks in 2012 she’ll have an excellent shot at beating Obama. So, let’s take her for the more serious threat that she actually is and not as some poor joke. Remember, the dullest knife in the drawer is often the quickest to cut us.

I’m pretty sure I disagree.  But let’s open up the floor for discussion.  Sarah Palin: joke or serious threat?  Vote in comments.

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AN IMPORTANT UPDATE

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The crisis facing journalism and democracy isn’t going away anytime soon. And neither is Mother Jones, our readers, or our unique way of doing in-depth reporting that exists to bring about change.

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