That said, I did happen to stumble across a fascinating snippet of candid commentary this afternoon that hints at why her task may be harder that many mooseburger-obsessed commentators assume. Appearing earlier today on MSNBC, former Reagan speechwriter Peggy Noonan and former McCain adviser Mike Murphy were captured during a commercial break on live mics disparaging McCain's decision to pick Palin as his running mate (video above). Asked whether Palin was the most qualified woman [McCain] could have chosen, Noonan scoffed. "The most qualified? No!," she said. "I think they went for this--excuse me--political bulls**t about narratives ... Every time the Republicans do that, because that's not where they live and it's not what they're good at, they blow it." A longtime McCain loyalist, Murphy agreed. "You know what's really the worst thing about it?" he said. "The greatness of McCain is no cynicism, and this is cynical." "It's over," concluded Noonan.

In one word: ouch.