Sarah Palin

A FEW MONTHS ago, I wrote a column predicting that President Obama would easily win reelection in 2012. Many of you wrote letters scolding me for prematurely re-crowning Obama without allowing the Republican field to fully emerge and develop. "Wait until September," you said, "then we'll know what's really going on. " Well, it's September. And I still feel the same way. In all fairness, though, things have changed considerably. The GOP, buoyed by an increasingly shaky economy and Obama's numerous strategic missteps, has managed to produce a field of candidates that are worth our attention.

WPHT-AM radio gabber Chris Stigall is paid to spout opinions. He shared a few with the Daily News about: Philadelphians: "Extremely passionate. Know exactly what they believe. Have an opinion. You'll never meet a [wishy-washy] Philadelphian. I don't think you can survive in this city and not know what you think about virtually everything. " Mayor Nutter: "Smart. Getting tougher. Liberal, sadly, but, of the liberal options, maybe the one I'm most comfortable with. " Pennsylvania Gov. Corbett: "Reserved.

A father and son from Schuylkill County were arrested by the FBI Thursday and will be sent to Alaska to face charges of making harassing calls to Sarah Palin's family, the latest act in a nearly three-year saga that started with a complaint about noises on a cellphone. Craig Christy, 47, and son Shawn, 22, were taken into custody by agents from the Allentown FBI office on an indictment issued by an Alaska grand jury. Their most recent address was in McAdoo, Pa., a community of 5,100 people about 50 miles northwest of Allentown.

A father and son were arrested by the FBI in Allentown this morning on charges of making harassing phone calls to former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin's family, lawyers and the lawyers' employees. Craig Christy and his son Shawn, of McAdoo, Schuylkill County, were arrested without incident just after 11 a.m., according to an FBI statement. Both men were to have initial appearances in federal magistrate court in Allentown later this afternoon. It was unclear whether Palin herself received any calls from the Christys.

DES MOINES, Iowa - Tim Pawlenty propped his left foot (black cowboy boots) on a hay bale at the Iowa State Fair on Friday and riffed about the "burden of government" weighing down small-business job creators. But, he said, the nation will get through the economic doldrums eventually because we're the "free-est country in the world. " "Why don't you get a real job?" a man on the edge of the crowd shouted, interrupting. "And you can speak as you wish, like this gentleman," Pawlenty said, going on to say that Americans have lost faith in their government.

DES MOINES, Iowa - Tim Pawlenty propped his left foot (black cowboy boots) on a hay bale at the Iowa State Fair on Friday and riffed about the "burden of government" weighing down small-business job creators. But, he said, the nation will get through the economic doldrums eventually because we're the "freest country in the world. " "Why don't you get a real job?" a man on the edge of the crowd shouted, interrupting. "And you can speak as you wish, like this gentleman," Pawlenty said, going on to say that Americans have lost faith in their government.

Crowded animal shelter About 200 animals poured into an already full shelter within 24 hours yesterday at the Pennsylvania SPCA-affiliated Animal Care and Control Team, creating what a PSPCA spokeswoman called an "urgent need for rescues and adopters. " "This time of year, all city shelters see an increase in animals being brought to the shelter, particularly cats," said Wendy Marano. The packed house was further filled by the seizure Tuesday by animal cruelty agents of 42 cats from a woman living in the Tacony section.

Gap seen in Palin e-mail release ANCHORAGE, Alaska - Alaska officials are investigating an apparent gap in Friday's release of more than 24,199 pages of e-mails sent and received by former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin during her first 21 months in office. The e-mails released covered Dec. 4, 2006, when Palin took office, until September 2008, or a few weeks after GOP presidential nominee John McCain chose her as his running mate. The e-mails were released to media groups that sought them under an open-records request.

THE MEDIA follow Sarah Palin around, Stuart Caesar, because they know it won't be long before she makes herself look like a fool. Hanging out with Donald Trump? The Statue of Liberty is a "warning" of sorts from the French to not "blow democracy"? Paul Revere was also warning the British that the British were coming - he was telling them they weren't going to take the colonists' guns away? Her ego won't let her admit that she doesn't know an answer, so she just makes something up. She'd rather dig a hole, jump in and keep digging until the hole starts to fill with water than admit she flubbed one of those "gotcha" questions (that she should know the answer to, but doesn't)