Eddie Burke: Sarah Palin's forgotten baby grizzly

Poor little griz Eddie Burke.

Almost from the beginning, he ran with Sarah Palin's grizzly pack. He was her troubadour, then her disciple and finally, when things started to go bad for the Alaska governor in the days leading up to her resignation, her knight in shining armor. There was nothing -- NOTHING! -- half-term, ex-Gov. Palin could do wrong in talk-show Eddie's eyes.

If ever there was anyone who worshiped at the shrine of Ms.Gov.VP.Princess-for-Life Palin, it was Eddie. But now comes election day -- for Eddie, not for Palin -- and where is the former governor, failed candidate for vice prez, and national political endorsement machine? Where is the Palin endorsement of Eddie Burke for lieutenant governor? Couldn't she at least have thrown poor dog Eddie a bone?

Yes, as all Alaskans know, grizzlies aren't like wolves. They don't run in packs. They don't care who has been loyal to the clan. But for crying out loud, Eddie was almost a cub to Sarah. He was there, in his past life as a talk-show host, pushing her brand almost from the beginning. But in the end, he was left to run as nothing but another "common-sense conservative,'' because he couldn't actually get the endorsement of the all-powerful mama grizzly.

It is hard not to feel for Eddie at this point. It is hard not to want to rub his bald head and say, "It will all be OK some day.''

All the polls are predicting Eddie the Burke, the former gas station owner, will finish a distant third behind Mead Treadwell and Jay Ramras in the Republican primary for light gov when the day is done. Granted, there is no reason to believe Palin's endorsement would have vaulted him past two better qualified candidates and into the lead. But it couldn't have hurt.

And didn't she owe him? When others in Alaska were beating up on Gov./Ms. Palin (including, sadly, at times, the author of this screed), Eddie was always there to defend her. Eddie was the ultimate in reliable troopers. And where is he today? Well, we don't know for sure yet, but it would appear that he's going down in flames. Every poll out there has him way back in the three-horse race.

Feel for Eddie. He tried. He fought hard. He yearned to carry the Palin ideology, or what he believed to be the Palin ideology, forward into the Alaska of tomorrow. And, Lord knows, Eddie is a lot more Palin than her successor as governor -- buttoned-down lawyer Sean Parnell.

Eddie, like Sarah, has fire. Eddie, like Sarah, has passion. It might not be your passion or my passion, but it's passion. Couldn't Ms. Palin at least given him a pre-election anointment for that?

Contact Craig Medred at craig(at)alaskadispatch.com.