"Will someone please tell me why Sarah Palin is starting to FASCINATE me??  In the last few days I have been seeking as much as possible on the 'net to read about her."

Just stay clear of the Porn "parodies" of Palin that are bound to hit the market soon (if they haven't already). Whether you're a Republican or a Democrat you'd hate yourself in the morning. 

But seriously, the reason she fascinates you is almost certainly her resemblance to and association with Geek Goddess Tina Fey. The antidote is wtaching lots and lots of 30 Rock.

Scott Richards wrote: Obama was extremely fortunate that the economic crisis happened when it did.  If it had happend two months later, the outcome of the election would have been a very different thing.

We don't know that.  McCain got a bump from the Republican Convention and Palin.  Not two weeks later, the economic crisis came to a head.  That certainly wasn't enough time for the post-convention drop in numbers most candidates experience after the exposure and high of nationally televised acceptance speeches.  I'm getting pretty sick of hearing Obama won because of the crisis, as if he didn't have a shot in hell of getting the presidency without it. Did it help?  Certainly it did...as did McCain's insistence that the "fundamentals are sound" and his early bungling of the crisis looking like he was more confused and flustered than a leader.  But the election had nearly two months to go.  If the crisis didn't happen, McCain's Convention bump would have likely gone down and we would have been in a tighter race, but I don't think anyone with any certainty can say absolutely that "the outcome of the election would have been a very different thing."  If wishes were fishes...