My old dog Jessie, a yellow lab mix who showed up on our doorstep as a half-starved pup and stayed her life, used to nose into my bedroom every morning shortly after 5 a.m. and stick her nose into mine.  She'd patiently give me a few moments for a bathroom break and to get my boots on before we'd head out into the early dawn for our daily walk.  We'd walk a loop through the fields along the fence lines and cut through the woods.  We had two or three routes and we'd walk them forward and reverse for a little diversity.

On our trail, Jessie would always follow in front.  She was compelled to be ahead of me, but when we reached a fork in the trail, she would always turn her head slightly and peer back at me for an indication of the direction I was heading.  At times, I would get her started up one fork and quickly move to the other trail.  Once she realized I had moved a different direction, she would dash quickly across the trails to once again get in front of me.  To an outside observer, she seemed to be leading our walks, but she was simply following out front.

Sarah Palin is the type of politician who follows out front.  From what I've read, Alaska underwent an evangelical rise in the 1990s.  Palin followed this lead and brought an anti-abortion campaign to the mayoral race in a small town, an unheard of means of campaigning.  She also declared that she'd be the town's first christian mayor, although previous mayors had been christians.

Palin never turned down an earmark as governor.  Once nominated as McCain's running mate, earmarks were no longer positive and Palin lied repeatedly about her support for the bridge to nowhere.  On the campaign trail, Palin has the ability to sense the direction of the crowd and follow it out front.  She reflects the crowd she's addressing.  She doesn't lead, she doesn't offer a new direction, she doesn't possess any unique knowledge or show the ability to persuade someone who disagrees with her to meet in some middle ground.  She can talk about Real America, she can shout Socialism to an angry crowd.  She can't change the direction or attitude of that crowd; she can only leap to follow in front.

While she is eyeing 2012 for her presidential run, she poses no threat to be seriously considered.  She can't follow out front of two or more separate groups at once.  She is limited to one crowd, one direction.  A true leader can bring those disparate groups together by laying out a new message and direction to unite the groups.  Palin, as a follower, can only reflect one message.