An Alaskan reader writes:

Thanks for your thoughtful insights on our Governor -- you and a handful of responsible journalists have brought to light what many of us already knew and what the mainstream media in Alaska failed to cover.

If you want to dig more deeply into Sarah Palin's economic theory -- or lack thereof -- I think you will find that while she espouses the free market, she has adopted a quasi-socialist and populist belief in the commons. One of her champions is former Gov. Walter Hickel, who has argued that commonly owned resources should be developed for the maximum benefit of the people -- and that this system of economic organization represents a new paradigm for states and nations.