Harsh?  Not really.  The ship has already sailed but she has lead her supporters on for too long.  Ace pretty much nails it:

Remember, she’s going to give you an “adult conversation,” rich in detail, unlike other poltiicians, who speak in “vague generalities.”

This speech was said to be two things, and hinted to a third.

First, it was supposed to be a “major announcement.” If there was a major announcement here, I missed it entirely.

Second, it was supposed to be a “full-throated defense of the Tea Party.” It wasn’t. It was platitudes and bromides sprinkled with flattering the crowd.

What would a “full-throated (and “major”) defense of the Tea Party” sound like? Well, for one, I’d think it should be persuasive to non-Tea Partiers. For another, I think it would be thoughtful, rather than off-the-cuff standard flatteries. For a third, I think it should be novel or new.

I could imagine a good speech about the Tea Party. I could imagine a speech going all the way back to the Town Halls during and after the Revolutionary War, when citizens were actually engaged in what their government and their country would be. I could imagine a speech detailing the patriotic conscientiousness of making sure that what was won by blood should not be lost by disregard.

And I could imagine such a speech noting that for decades, American citizens had largely abandoned this commitment to engagement with their own political fates, and a Media-Government Elite filled the vacuum, and over time, became less and less connected with the citizens they were supposedly serving.

And I could imagine a speech then noting that this Elite, having gotten cozy deciding the fate of the nation, reacts hysterically and angrily when citizens decide they want to take back their God-given right to decide the course of human events for themselves, viciously attacking Americans who had the audacity to say “We’re taking our responsibilities as citizens seriously again, after too long leaving it them to you, those who craved power and assumed it and now cry like stuck animals when we attempt to take back what was always ours.”

Maybe you don’t think that’s good. Maybe that strikes you as pedestrian and done to death.

But if you’re going to claim a “full throated defense of the Tea Party,” shouldn’t there be something beyond the typical praise of the “workin’ man” and the standard-issue statements that we’re the ones who actually produce wealth?

That stuff is true. But it’s unremarkable. Certainly it fails to live up to the advance billing.

Third, what was implied was that Palin would make an announcement about her candidacy. She hinted about this “See you on September 3rd!,” a campaign-like commercial promised.

And she never said publicly, “Although I am giving a policy speech, I will not be making any kind of declaration on September 3rd.” Such a statement was leaked by “sources close to the governor,” but is there something “unconservative” about simply making one’s plans known?

So that other people don’t waste their time?

Instead, after the encouragement of interest, and the cultivation of speculation about what that “major announcement” might be, it was a very standard-issue and not-particularly-important or novel stump speech.

Some might find this sort of coyness and games-playing “brilliant” or the like. I don’t.

Some may claim she “played a trick on the media.” Yes, the media. And everyone else too.

Tough words on someone I really like, but true nonetheless.  In retrospect, I wish she had stayed on as governor in Alaska, fight through the frivolous lawsuits regarding ethics that libs were filing against her, keep her mouth shut instead of complaining about media bias, and put some seasoning on her record as governor.  Too late for that now.  Playing these games are just going to drive her negatives up more.  Better to endorse and be actively involved in helping congressional and presidential candidates in the 2012 elections if she wants to salvage her rapidly shrinking political relevance.