STAY HOME, SARAH? - AT 7:50 A.M. ET:  The hits on Sarah Palin continue.  Now The Hill reports that some Republicans don't want her coming into their states and districts to campaign for them:

Republicans facing tough elections in 2010 don’t want Sarah Palin campaigning with them.

Though the soon-to-be-former Alaska governor is seen as popular with the conservative grass roots, several Republicans said she’d help them by staying home in Wasilla.

Several of these Republicans hail from districts or states carried in 2008 by President Obama, a frequent target of Palin’s criticism. Republicans must keep these districts and win others where Obama is popular if they are to gain seats next year.

GOP Rep. Lee Terry (Neb.), who squeaked out a victory despite his district’s overwhelming turnout for Obama, said he’d rather have House colleagues campaign for him than Palin.

COMMENT:  Okay, but there's actually less here than meets the eye.  Palin is a strong conservative.  In swing districts you want to convince voters that you're closer to the center.  By definition, a swing district is one in which the victorious candidate reaches across party lines for votes.  If you need Democratic votes, you may not want to be linked with Sarah.

It's the same, of course, for Democrats.  I'll bet there are some moderate Democratic members of Congress who, privately, would not want President Obama in their districts, especially as his poll numbers are slipping.  They certainly wouldn't want Nancy Pelosi.

Sarah has yet to be tested on the fundraising, base-building campaign trail in an off-year election.  We'll only know as we get into the 2010 campaign combat how popular, or not, she really is, and who invites her in.

July 10, 2009