We have had a few days to observe the impact of Sarah Palin on the race. The most surprising aspect by far is the degree to which she has utterly reshaped, if not obliterated, the Democrats’ campaign. Whether you believe the Democratic gaffe duo intentionally insult and demean or that they merely inadvertently do so, it is hard to escape the conclusion that they have Palin on the brain. But why, and why devote all this time to her? They must see that they are only feeding the media storyline that Palin has rocked the race. A few explanations are possible.

First, the public polling (and perhaps to a greater degree the internal polling) may have freaked out the Obama camp. With women and independents flocking to McCain, they are desperate to do anything to knock her down a peg. In a fit of irrational panic they have only built her up and enhanced her gender appeal, but these are desperate times, perhaps.

Second, as a colleague pointed out, neither Barack Obama or Joe Biden have ever had a viable national race (we can exclude Biden’s presidential runs) with a tough opponent. Obama had a cakewalk in his 2004 Senate race against Alan Keyes, and Biden has had a safe seat for decades. But, you say Obama beat Hillary Clinton — why is he faltering under pressure now? For starters he never faced an opponent who ideologically challenged him and secondly Clinton’s ill-fated campaign did more to sink her than anything else he did. (And let’s not forget that she in essence won the second half of the Democratic primary but was simply too far behind then to catch up.) In other words, neither of these guys have played for keeps before in the big leagues. It is now showing.

Third, the Democrats never dreamed they would be in this position and are thoroughly frustrated and flummoxed. “George Bush’s clone” didn’t seem to work, the Agent of Change is long gone, and they don’t have much else thematically in their bag of tricks. So, the only option is to attack.

Finally, it is hard to avoid the conclusion that Obama is miffed that his star has been eclipsed. The resentment seeps out, in patronizing language and in haughty tones. How dare she beat him at his game! And how embarrassing it must be to see that his own gross error in snubbing his rival Hillary Clinton set the wheels in motion for the last ten days of political agony.

Really, though, the Democrats need to get a grip. The race is close, the debates are ahead and the polls are in flux. They can still win it  — if they don’t give the voters a sense they are wimps who wilt under pressure.