The XX Factor: What women really think.

The Maverick and the Media

SNL may be mocking us mockers, but Palin is palling around with the SNL gang. So much for her status as the Outsider. What a brilliant way to co-opt the maverick—though as Hanna points out, Palin was eagerly colluding. Check out Jane Mayer's piece, "The Insiders,"in this week's New Yorker, about how McCain picked her in the first place: Palin had been very busy schmoozing with boatloads of Washington insiders. Isn't the real story here that Palin the small-town gal isn't about to pass up any opportunity to mingle with the plugged-in political and media crowd?