NY23: Credit where credit is due

As Dr. K of pointed out earlier in the comments, he was the first conservative blogger to ask -- on Sept. 30 -- whether Sarah Palin would endorse Doug Hoffman.

Considering that "Palin endorses Hoffman" is now so huge at Memeorandum, Dr. K can take a bow.

BTW, don't be puzzled if the Hoffman campaign doesn't make a big deal out of Palin's endorsement. Because she's been so unfairly demonized by the MSM, Palin's status with independent voters is kind of problematic right now (let's hope Oprah can fix that). So don't expect to see Hoffman TV ads in NY23 shoving the Palin endorsement in voter's faces. The strategic importance of the Palin endorsement is two-fold:

• For Hoffman, it means small-dollar contributions from Palin's legion of grassroots conservative supporters, as well as signaling -- like the endorsements from Dick Armey, Club for Growth, Mark Levin, etc. -- Hoffman's status as the conservative in NY23.
• For Palin, it establishes her political independence, making it clear that she is willing to defy the national GOP leadership to side with grassroots conservatives.

Palin's endorsement would have had more impact -- both for her and for Hoffman -- if she'd have made it last week, when there were fewer than a dozen bloggers on that Oct. 14 ACU conference call that began my involvement in this effort. But let us not make small criticisms of a great woman.

By the time you read this post -- I'm writing this about three hours in advance -- I'll be on the road to Hoffman HQ in Saranac Lake. It was a week ago that I wrote a post with the title, "GOP sells out! NRCC gives '6-figure' donation to RINO Scozzafava? SEND ME TO NEW YORK!

Since we are giving credit where credit is due, I once again wish to thank those readers whose contributions to the Shoe Leather Fund have enabled me to provide exclusive on-the-scene coverage of this campaign. I am also grateful to Smitty and to Jimmie Bise for keeping the blog running during the many hours I've spent on the road the past three days. And I'm grateful to all the bloggers and Tweeps who've helped promote our coverage online. One of these days, I'll find a reliable blog intern to help me make sure that everyone gets a personal thank-you.

Wait a minute. Y'know, now that you mention it, why not make an early start in that direction? If it's been a shortage of blog-o-bucks that's prevented me from actually paying an intern -- Myers the Blog Intern was unpaid, unless you count "getting to hang out with Ann Coulter" as payment -- why not raise money for that?

Some people have called me an "evil genius." But evil is hard work and, as I like to say, I'm too lazy to be evil. So please, won't you give generously to the Blog Intern Fund?

OK, it's 186 miles to Saranac Lake, so it's time to shut down the national desk here in Syracuse and get rolling. By the time you read this, I'll be dodging the New York State Police and their legendary radar speed traps on State Highway 3, somewhere in the vicinity of Harrisville.

But don't worry about me. If those backwoods meth cookers in Kentucky didn't kill me, I think I'll be OK in upstate New York.

HOFFMANIA!