Wherever you look, Sarah Palin is there — in key states, on magazine covers, and in the headlines. This is to some extent a function of the recent debate and her elevation as the prime attacker of Barack Obama’s past affiliations. But to some extent she has become the emotional center of the McCain-Palin ticket. She’s the best answer John McCain has in the “Who’s more outsider-ish?” battle. She’s the excitement for the base. And she’s the one who seems most willing to take a swing at the Democrats in Congress. Oh, and in an interview with Bill Kristol she’s the only one with a clue — or the nerve to express — how important it is to discuss Reverend Wright:

To tell you the truth, Bill, I don’t know why that association isn’t discussed more, because those were appalling things that that pastor had said about our great country, and to have sat in the pews for 20 years and listened to that — with, I don’t know, a sense of condoning it, I guess, because he didn’t get up and leave — to me, that does say something about character. But, you know, I guess that would be a John McCain call on whether he wants to bring that up.

Certainly, some of this attention also stems from her newness in the race and on the national scene. People are still intrigued by her. But part of this is unfortunately a sense that voters and the media have heard just about everything McCain has to say and are a little bored. It doesn’t mean the McCain-Palin ticket is kaput — just that its hopes of a comeback rely increasingly on the freshest and funnest messenger. More and more, the burden falls to her to convince voters that Obama is too risky and McCain-Palin is innovative enough to fufill the desire of Americans for a clean break with the past.

That’s a tall order for any VP, let alone one so new to national politics. Some may suspect it’s all a dry run for the next presidential race — which, if the current crazed political environment is any guide, will start in about six months.