Nation editor Katrina vanden Heuvel appears on Morning Joe to discuss the most pertinent political figure du jour: Sarah Palin. Her comments serve to remind the viewers that before Sarah Palin the author, there was Sarah Palin the strong female leader: “This is a woman who was proud of being Sarah Baracuda…of being a tough woman, family woman. And the way she left her beleaguered state, just walked away, so she could do some lucrative book selling, is not a measure of a woman who has the strength to stay as a real political figure.” There’s a difference between those who are mavericks, and those who use the maverick symbol as a political slogan, she says–a difference that can be observed in the contrast between Palin’s own memoir and The Nation‘s companion collection of essays, Going Rouge. For more of Katrina, watch her discuss Obama’s Afghanistan decision on the rest of this clip, and a Liz Cheney vs. Sarah Palin ticket in 2012 here.

—Fernanda Diaz

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