Pollster Dave Dittman says that Palin has connected with Alaskans on a personal level much more so than on a policy level.

"I think they like her youthfulness, the fact that she's a woman, that she's a mother, that she stands up to the big boys kind of a thing," Dittman said. "There's the populist air of it. And she hasn't done anything really wrong."

Palin had the advantage of following Alaska's least-popular governor, Frank Murkowski. She says the reason for her rating is simple.

"I think you just can't go wrong when your intentions are good in terms of providing that service to Alaskans -- open, honest, transparent government; clean up some of the ethical lapses that Alaskans had been getting tired of," she said.

HT: PalinforVP.com

As I pointed out previously, Portman's NTU scores over his twelve years in Congress were not always great, but he was staunchly pro-free trade as Bush's U.S. Trade Rep. and fought against pork as director of the OMB.

Haley's Comment

JACKSON, Miss. -- Haley Barbour has quickly gained a reputation as one of America's most effective governors. Liberals and conservatives give him near straight As for his handling of the Katrina hurricane disaster. He passed one of the most sweeping tort reform bills in the nation four years ago. And he has held budget growth to below the inflation rate, so Mississippi is not in dire fiscal shape like many states today. Mr. Barbour is also considered to be a shortlist candidate for a John McCain vice presidential slot.

When I asked him about these rumors, he was charmingly modest and guffawed with his thick southern drawl: "Why would he take me? If John McCain can't win Mississippi, he's going to lose 40 states." Mr. Barbour also concedes that his background as a "former tobacco lobbyist in Washington" would make him a dart board for the left.

But the right wing of the GOP is demanding a conservative on the ticket to keep a check on Mr. McCain's penchant for compromise and leftward drift on issues. Mr. Barbour is clearly a favorite of conservatives. "Haley has rock solid conservative credentials," says Grover Norquist of Americans for Tax Reform.

More than that, Mr. Barbour is one of the most insightful political strategists of modern times. As chairman of the Republican National Committee, he was right alongside Newt Gingrich in 1993 and 1994 during the Contract with America period of Republican ascendancy. If Newt was the brains of the GOP takeover, Haley was the field marshal.

I asked the governor whether he thought John McCain could win in this tough anti-Republican environment. "Because he is a maverick, McCain was the best Republican we could have nominated in this political cycle with voter hostility towards Bush and Republicans in Congress," Mr. Barbour says. "The key to winning this year is to take the opposite course of the 2004 election. In '04 Bush won by getting out more of our base than the Democrats did of theirs," he continues. "This election will be decided by which party gets more crossover votes from the other party. John McCain must win the Reagan Democrats -- a group Barack Obama has big problems with."

One of the knocks against Haley in the past has been his weight. He once had a "John Engler problem" of being too pudgy to climb on the national stage. But now Mr. Barbour is as trim as I've ever seen him, with at least a 25-pound weight loss. He looks to me to be tanned, rested and ready. If not for the No. 2 slot in 2008, then certainly for the top of the ticket in 2012.

Top 10 Crazy Laws or Proposals - Whatever happened to common sense?

1. State law requires an individual to complete 1,500 hours of instruction to become a cosmetologist. It takes more hours of licensing to become a cosmetologist in SC than it does to become a police officer (396 hours) or carry a concealed weapon (8 hours).

2. Caskets and Stones, a retail funeral store in Greenwood, submitted their license application, paid their fee, were scheduled to go before the Board of Funeral Directors, and were told they could open. But then the Board gave them a "cease and desist" order * essentially telling them to stop selling caskets. The Board fined them $1,500 for "opening before their Board appointment." They had to pay it before they could get their license.

3. Fortune Tellers are required to obtain a special permit in order to operate in South Carolina.

4. A proposed bill would require high school football and basketball playoff games to have replay for officials to use during these games.

5. Barbering schools are required by law to have at least ten instructional chairs *and those chairs are required by law to be upholstered and finished exactly the same way.

6. In 2003, a bill was introduced that would have required all drinking straws in South Carolina be sold in individual wrappers. The bill almost led to a fist fight on the House floor.

7. The fourth Friday in October in each year is designated by law in public schools as Frances Willard Day, and each public school is required "to prepare and render a suitable program on the day to the end that the children of the state may be taught the evils of intemperance."

8. Circuses cannot exceed 48 hours at one place in any one year.

9. If a menu or advertisement states "frozen dessert," it must correctly state the specific frozen dessert that is offered for sale so as not to mislead the consumer.

10. Musical instruments are not allowed to be sold on Sunday.

QUESTION: People talk about a dream ticket in Democratic politics, Obama-Clinton, Clinton-Obama. And when they talk about a dream ticket in Republican politics, they say McCain-Rice. Would you consider it?

SECRETARY RICE: Well, that’s very nice, but this isn’t for me. I don’t know how many ways I can make clear that I’m going back to California. I belong west of the Mississippi. No offense to the East Coast, but I belong west of the Mississippi. And John McCain will find a fantastic running mate. I’m sure of that. He is a great man, who is a great patriot. But it’s time for me to move on.

QUESTION: Even if it would increase the chance that your party could stay in office for four more years?

SECRETARY RICE: We’ll have many people who will be the perfect running mate for John, and they’ll get it done. But it’s time for me to move on. It’s been a long seven and a half, soon to be eight years. I think we’ve achieved a lot. We’ve made our share of accomplishments. We’ve made our share of mistakes. That’s the way that it is.