Surprsing New Poll Result

Despite criticism from the left, a new Harrass Poll shows Sarah Palin getting a large boost in popularity from coverage of her Hong Kong speech.

Her popularity bounce also showed up in this week's Fantasy Presidential Voting League. The former Alaskan governor and beauty queen trounced Thomas Jefferson in head-to-head polling. Participants favored Palin's directness and plainspoken qualities. Jefferson had the advantage in experience, but that wasn't enough to overcome a long list of negatives. At the top was Jefferson's sexual relationship with his slave, Sally Hemings, who bore him six illegitimate children. His numerous writings questioning God and religion were also a strong negative issue for the voting group. Charges of elitism came up because of Jefferson's admitted enjoyment of expensive French wines and his long-winded oratorical style. That caused some of Palin's supporters to liken him to John Kerry. A few said they were uncomfortable with the third president because he used Bill Clinton's middle name as his own.

When told about the results, Palin said she had great respect for Mr. Jefferson, despite his age, but favored changing the US twenty-five cent piece to show Ronald Reagan's likeness instead of Jefferson's. She added, "It's OK to keep him [Jefferson] on the three-dollar bill."