Oh, hey, what do you know: Sarah Palin has suddenly been cleared of the two biggest blots on her record, and just in time for the election! What amazing timing. First, the Alaska Personnel Board and its independent counsel decided the Republican vice-presidential nominee didn't abuse her power as Alaska governor to have her former brother-in-law fired as state public safety commissioner. Also, Palin released her medical history just as she promised the entire country she would on television, to disprove all those crazy theories about how Trig Palin isn't really her baby. Have you spotted the terrible distortion in all this yet, traumatized 2008 campaign veteran?

As AP noted, the history released by Palin was not the complete medical records she promised, but a two-page letter from a physician concluding she was in "excellent health." Palin nemesis Andrew Sullivan is so not impressed:

There is no time for any reporters to ask any questions... We need documentation to verify the last pregnancy: the amniocentesis results with Sarah Palin's name on them, for example, would be readily available and easy to disseminate, and would help raise awareness of Down Syndrome.

But do we really need all that? It would sure be nice to enter the 2012 election with an entirely fresh batch of scandals. That is the meaning of Hope.