Georgia Runs A Runoff Election

Jim Martin takes on incumbent Saxby Chambliss today in the Peach State for Senator, but most of the attention has not been on the race itself, but what it means nationally for Sarah Palin's campaigning for the freshman Republican...

Palin's decision to blanket the state with appearances -- and the rock-star reception she is receiving -- speaks to two basic facts about the former vice presidential nominee: she is beloved by the base of the party and she has absolutely no intention of stepping off the national stage any time soon.

While Palin has been widely derided by many political commentators and many Democrats, it's hard to dispute that there is no more appealing face for the party faithful at the moment than her's.

Though few in the GOP base would admit it publicly, there is a significant weariness with President George W. Bush and, to a lesser extent, Sen. John McCain. Palin represents something totally different -- in the way she looks, the way she talks and in her résumé.

"She's a very, very fresh face for every Republican, and some independents, said Fred Davis, the lead media consultant for McCain's presidential race. "She is a breath of fresh air."

...and what effect this has on Obama's coalition and the Dems hitting 60 in the Senate.

Today's runoff election between Martin and Chambliss will offer the first test of whether Obama is able to bequeath more to local allies than merely the trappings of a presidential campaign. The results may offer a tentative answer to questions that will ghost American politics for at least the next four years: Is there a sustainable Obama coalition, and is the Obama machine durable? Has Obama created anything greater than himself?

"He has a political army that is truly impressive, but that kind of loyalty to a person rather than to an institution is not as transferable," said Donald Fowler, a former Democratic National Committee chairman. "Yet this is a new day and this is a new kind of organization: it is highly electronic and it might work."

For Democrats, the election has a far more urgent meaning: a victory here - along with one in Minnesota, where the votes in a disputed race are being recounted - would give them 60 members of the Senate, a supermajority that could block a Republican filibuster.

Remember, Saxby Chambliss (and by extension, Sarah Palin) is now running on being Republican Senator Number 41 to stop Obama and the Democrats from destroying the universe or something. Chambliss has the lead in the polls, but a lot of big names have been swinging on Martin's behalf in the last week like the Goracle and the Big Dog.

We'll see. If you're in from Georgia, go vote.