A story in this week's issue of The Economist considers the effect Alaska's most famous export is having on Georgia's primary. When Sarah Palin endorsed Karen Handel on July 12, the former deputy chief of staff to Marilyn Quayle saw her poll numbers jump up 15 points (and into the lead). The closing lines of The Economist's story: "Ms Palin's endorsement helped Ms Handel with Republican voters. Whether it has the same power in a general election remains an open question."

And check out Handel's first TV ad, which says she's "tougher than an ox, but with a heart that comes from a life beating the odds." (The ox has lipstick on, a hat tip to Palin's coming-out speech at the GOP Convention -- remember the difference between a hockey mom and a pit bull?)

And while Palin likely won't have time to read this post, she probably already read about herself in The Economist. After Palin said she read The Economist in 2008, the British newsmagazine said privacy rules prohibited them from saying whether she was a paid subscriber, but that they did have 2,168 subscribers in the 49th state.

Contact Joshua Saul at jsaul(at)alaskadispatch.com.