In her Declarations column in the Wall Street Journal today, Peggy Noonan comes out a bit tepid for Sarah Palin. Calling Palin's selection a "Hail Mary pass" she also asks, speaking for the left, "What does Sarah Barracuda really mean?"

First things first, McCain probably would have won anyway without Palin. He didn't need to throw a "Hail Mary pass" and I don't think Palin is a high risk/high reward pick. Obama's performance in polls this summer has been very weak as compared with past Democrat contenders, and Democrats typically fade after Labor Day. Granted, the conservative base was not enthusiastic about McCain before Palin's nod, but Republicans tend to vote from a sense of duty rather than an adolescent desire to change the world, so we show up regardless.

On the second point, I think everyone already understands the meaning of "Sarah Barracuda". It means she's got brass tubes. She's formidable and aggressive. Sarah Palin is no hothouse flower. And, yes, a lot of people probably find her pretty intimidating.

Does anybody think Hillary Clinton is any different? Does anybody think Joe Biden or Barack Obama is anything less? Joe Biden, like Hillary Clinton, has been running for president his whole life. Barack Obama has thrown his minister and his "typical white person" grandma under the bus to get where he is. These are not people who hesitate to do what's necessary to get what they want out of life.

Any doubts that I may have had about Sarah Palin being too kind or sensitive for the office were immediately swept away when I learned that she's called "Sarah Barracuda" by her friends and associates. That they call her that at all means she's not to be trifled with, and that they call her that to her face means she has a sense of humor and doesn't take herself too seriously.

[A Clear and Present Danger To the American Left - WSJ]

Update: And then there's this. Well, I'm done with Peggy Noonan.