Tales from the Trail

Talk about a political football.

The Anchorage Daily News in Alaska is reporting, and The Providence Journal is repeating, a tantalizing rumor that Sarah Palin is going to move to Rhode Island.

No one has confirmed that (including us, and we tried). Even the Anchorage paper which started the speculation says it’s probably not true.

But frankly, Sarah Palin — the former Republican vice presidential candidate and Alaska governor — is a queen of surprises so one never knows…

Just in case, let’s look at what Palin would gain from moving to the scenic geographically smallest state on the Atlantic from the scenic geographically largest state on the Pacific.

On the favorite Palin pastime of hunting, Rhode Island offers whitetail deer and pheasant, somewhat smaller game than bear and caribou in Alaska.

WASHINGTON – Ready for the first polls in the 2012 presidential race? 

Neither are we, but the folks at the Marist College Institute of Public Opinion couldn’t resist scaring us anyway. 

 They sent an e-mail on Thursday with the subject line: Marist Poll: Matchups for the 2012 Presidential Election — For Immediate Release. 

 Once opened, however, the message read: “Did you really open this e-mail? Haven’t you had enough? You’ll be hearing from us soon … but not this soon. 

PHOENIX – “He’s a maverick.” “He’s the consummate maverick.” “We’re a team of mavericks.” – You’ve all heard it time and again in recent weeks as Republican John McCain and fresh-faced running mate Gov. Sarah Palin slap on the maverick label to differentiate themselves from the GOP herd corralled inside the beltway in Washington.

But the New York Times reported on Sunday that the real Mavericks – a storied south Texas family with a long tradition in progressive politics – are not too happy about what they say is the misappropriation of their family name.

“I’m just enraged that McCain calls himself a maverick,” the Times reported Terrellita Maverick, 82, saying. The San Antonio resident is the scion of a family which has been outspoken about liberal causes for generations, and has otherwise bucked conventions.