Are the media elite beginning to take Sarah Palin seriously? The tide seems to be turning that way after Palin's relentless media assault. Time's Joe Klein said she is "someone to be taken absolutely seriously," and plenty of others are nodding along. Now David Broder, atop his perch at The Washington Post, is hyping her potential. "The lady is good," marvels Broder. "Those who want to stop her will need more ammunition than deriding her habit of writing on her hand." Here's the press corps dean's ringing endorsement:

What stood out in the eyes of TV-watching pols of both parties was the skill with which she drew a self-portrait that fit not just the wishes of the immediate audience but the mood of a significant slice of the broader electorate.

This is a pitch-perfect recital of the populist message that has worked in campaigns past. There are times when the American people are looking for something more: for an Eisenhower, who liberated Europe; an FDR or a Kennedy or a Bush, all unashamed aristocrats; or an Obama, with eloquence and brains.

But in the present mood of the country, Palin is by all odds a threat to the more uptight Republican aspirants such as Mitt Romney and Tim Pawlenty -- and potentially, to Obama as well.

It's clear what "threat" he's alluding to--a rumored run for president.

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John Hudson