Millions of Americans spent this week ignoring politics and concentrating on summer, soaring temperatures and vacation travel, but there was no getting away from Sarah Palin.
A largely overlooked Republican state governor until she ran for the vice-presidency two years ago, Palin was thrust into the spotlight and has stayed there ever since as a television host, prolific internet presence, author of a best-selling memoir and busy public-speaker.
In just the past week:
- She acknowledged a new chapter in a long-running melodrama surrounding her daughter, a teenaged single mother. Celebrity tabloids were pleased to learn that 19-year-old Bristol now plans to marry her former boyfriend, the father of her child.
Not bad for a quiet week in July.
Palin is unique in American public life: a woman who says she loves to go hunting with her husband and spend time with her five kids and still manages to connect constantly with voters across multiple media.
But her Republican policies and homespun persona still make her a polarising figure. Ask an American about her and you’re likely as likely to hear anger as affection.
A NBC/Wall Street Journal poll last month found 33% of respondents hold a negative view of her, with 29% positive and 24% neutral.
Palin left her job as Alaska governor a year ago and Americans have been wondering ever since whether she would seek the presidency. They are still wondering.
In the meantime, they are seeing a lot of her. A lot.