Sarah and Terry

Sarah Palin and Terry Branstad are now friends on Facebook. And she totally wants him to be the next governor of Iowa.

Comment? Like?

I like Rod Boshart's lede:

DES MOINES - It's not often that martial artist Chuck Norris gets knocked out, but former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin managed it Thursday.

Palin took the luster off Norris's two-day, five-city swing through Iowa in support of GOP gubernatorial candidate Bob Vander Plaats by announcing through her Twitter account that she was endorsing former Gov. Terry Branstad in Tuesday's Iowa Republican primary.

Palin, a possible 2012 GOP presidential candidate, noted Iowa's state motto: “Our liberties we prize and our rights we will maintain,” and said the words would be well-served if Iowans voted for Branstad next week.

There's no big mystery why a possible (I say probable) 2010 presidential wannabe would throw in with the favorite. Branstad could be a nice caucus night asset. If he wins.

Vander Plaats supporters are not happy, and not just because Chuck got upstaged. They think BVP is the real rogue in this race. Vander Plaats now plans to issue an executive order banning the phrase "you betcha."

I have a couple of questions.

Is a Sarah Palin gubernatorial endorsement only good for a half-term?

Will Branstad and Palin hold a joint appearance to formally announce the endorsement  in Cedarburg, Wisc.?

Oh, and do any voters care who Sarah Palin and Chuck Norris think they should support Tuesday?

UPDATE -- Desmoinesdem over at Bleeding Heartland has a longish analysis of Palin's endorsement under the headline "Sarah Palin Just Made a Big Mistake."

I get all the arguments, that Palin's pick looks bad if Vander Plaats wins and that Branstad's camp, which is full of Romneyites, won't give her much credit if TB wins etc. Seems logical.

But I don't think picking a winner can be bad, especially when her candidate-picking track record lately has been spotty. And even if Vander Plaats wins, I don't buy the notion that it will hurt her all that much if she runs for prez.

I've talked to people who love Palin and want her to run in 2012. They don't care that she resigned halfway through her term, or that she doesn't appear to grasp important issues or that her life is a soap opera filmed on a crazy train.

So I don't think they'll care if she picked the wrong horse in the primary.