Sarah Palin's 2008 vice presidential candidacy garnered tremendous levels of interest, polarizing the American public-both Democrats and Republicans alike. While many have wondered who she "really" is, trying to cut through the persona she projects and the one projected by the media, Beail and Longworth analyze why she touches such a nerve with the American electorate. Why does she ignite such passionate loyalty - and such loathing? How did her candidacy mobilize new parts of the electorate?

Using the notion of "framing" as a way of understanding political perception, the...