On this question of the size of jurisdiction governed or represented by the candidates: In the 2000 census there were seven states with populations below 1,000,000 — Montana, Delaware, South Dakota, North Dakota, Alaska, Vermont, and Wyoming. We’ve had some pretty influential people from those states. Just off the top of my head, the vice president is from Wyoming; until not too long ago, the Senate majority/minority leader was from South Dakota; the powerful chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee is from Vermont. You can come up with a lot more names going back many years. And now the vice presidential candidates are from Alaska and Delaware. I’m not addressing the other issues of Palin’s qualifications, but I’m not sure size alone is a serious factor.