"They're playing soft-ball (but not in Maine or San Diego)"

Well, the news is out: Sarah Palin's upcoming book tour is going the (cough) maverick route of bypassing big cities in favor of medium-sized ones such as Grand Rapids, Fort Wayne and, yes, Jacksonville.

The CNN article also points out that these are more conservative towns than such liberal bastions as New York City, Los Angeles and Chicago. It's the FOX News effect: If you can't defend yourself from facts and rational arguments, then choose your venue with care. That's why Chris Wallace interviews Rush Limbaugh. That's why O'Reilly cuts off anyone who is making sense. And that, more or less, is why Sarah is coming to Jacksonville.

In my recent post about morning shows, I mentioned how these folks are not hard hitting reporters. Their job is to do comfortable segments and keep things mellow. So when Katie Couric (who once said an example of "important" news reporting was the Runaway Bride), completely stumps Sarah Plain with the simplest of questions, it was clear Sarah needed a thicker bubble than most.

So welcome to Jax, Sarah. We'll try to keep the IQ down for you.