What is it with some people and their Palin-hatred? Is their obsession attributable to insecurity, a lack of other hobbies, or what? Look, I'm not terribly impressed, for example, with Dennis Kuncinich. And I spend how much time each week thinking about him? Zero? Very close.

Though the election's long over, Kathleen Parker apparently feels a need to bash Palin some more, via a comparison with Caroline Kennedy:

Palin, who one could argue was similarly anointed -- cynically selected without proper vetting -- was headed for much bigger business. As vice president, she would have been a heartbeat away from The Button, though she would not have been "in charge of the U.S. Senate," as she told a child who asked what the vice president does.

Critics on the other side of the political aisle may have had other reasons to oppose Palin (such as her pro-life position), but the loyal opposition was firmly based on substantive concerns about competence, as well as wariness about her tone and temperament, which became increasingly divisive.

Palin's demonstrated lack of basic knowledge, her intellectual incuriosity, her inability to articulate ideas or even simple thoughts all combined to create an impression of not-quite-there.

Parker is in full-leftist mode here: "Divisive"? Sounds like code for "I endlessly incessantly criticized my party's VP candidate but want to blame her for my dislike of her." Usually, it's the ones screaming "Divisive!" who are, themselves, splintering off and dividing people up. (Parker has, for example, suggested that the Republican Party should no longer be a "big tent" welcoming religious conservatives.)

As far as Palin's alleged incuriosity and density, a former editor of MS magazine, who (unlike Parker) spent quite a lot of time traveling with Palin, remarked:

Palin asks questions, and probes linkages and logic that bring to mind a quirky law professor I once had. Palin is more than a “quick study”; I'd heard rumors around the campaign of her photographic memory and, frankly, I watched it in action. She sees. She processes. She questions, and only then, she acts. What is often called her “confidence” is actually a rarity in national politics: I saw a woman who knows exactly who she is.

I agree that Palin interviewed badly on at least two important occasions. And yes, I was less than impressed with her debate performance. And? I've seen many relatively bright people seize up under less pressure -- particularly in an adversarial context. (Obama offered not a few incomprehensibles as well.) That might speak to a person's marketability, but doesn't necessarily imply they're stupid. If Parker ever supported Bush, she should understand this. (Indeed, many of the stock insults she hurls were also attributed to Reagan.)

I expect Parker's continued animus stems from what she revealed previously: her loathing of Palin's "oogedy-boogedy" religion. Yet I don't understand why this produces such rage and personal hatred.