Opinion: Sarah Palin: Old hunting photo, new role hunting votes

This article was originally on a blog post platform and may be missing photos, graphics or links. See About archive blog posts.

By now you may have figured out -- because the magazines and online websites sure have -- that Alaska Gov. and Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin is surefire box office. No accident that there’s so much attention paid to John McCain’s No. 2.

Good or bad, she sells.

So, as our blogging colleague Elizabeth Snead points out, there she is on the Newsweek cover with editor Jon Meacham and columnist Karl Rove arguing inside about her strengths and weaknesses.

Over on her Dish Rag blog, Elizabeth has links to the articles. In this cover image, Palin has a shotgun over her shoulder, just as her father taught his daughter when they went hunting in her teens.

So since when has the hockey mom of five had time to go hunting this fall?

She hasn’t.

As Newsweek honestly explains, it’s a file photo from 2002, long before Palin knew such images might help with some outdoors-people votes in crucial swing states in about four weeks.

So what’s next, do you think? Barack Obama in hip waders and orange hunting jacket bitterly clinging to a dead goose’s neck in a bid for the small-town Pennsylvania vote?

-- Andrew Malcolm

To receive instant alerts of all Ticket items, just go to Twitter and sign up for free automatic notices sped directly to your cell.