On the morning of the Sarah Palin debate, does anyone but an ideologue still believe that she is qualified to be President?  No national politician has gone from wildly popular to so unpopular so rapidly.  She’s become a drag on the Republican ticket, according to a consensus of the polls.  Many conservative Republican intellectuals are writing that they wish she’d just go away.  Just announce that her children need her, and go back to Alaska, they say.

If 60 is the new 50, why do my hips hurt so bad?  Most people think I’m somewhere in my mid-50s, but I’m turning 60 Saturday, Oct. 4.  I’m not vain about my looks, but I’d rather look a little younger than a little older.  Until this year, I’ve never had any emotional problems turning any other landmark age.  Since I turned 30, I’ve always felt better than I did five years ago.  Except that this year, I’ve started having aches and pains.