We're not sure if this is "lamestream" news or not, but CBS News's Scott Conroy has written a long profile of ex-Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin's most loyal and vocal Internet supporters. The profile centers on people working on a few of the most well-known Web sites making no bones about being totally in the tank for Sarah (HillBuzz, Conservatives4Palin, Texas4Palin and Motivationtruth). The ways these online activists came to their unconditional support for Palin may surprise you.

Our favorite part came when Nicole Coulter (of Conservatives4Palin, no relation to Ann Coulter) compares herself and Palin's most passionate supporters, "Palin-heads," to people who followed the Grateful Dead and tended to idolize Jerry Garcia. "Yeah, they loved the music, but it was this whole identity," she says. "The Grateful Dead represented a way of living, a way of thinking, and people globbed onto that and were in harmony with that, and you shared this community with other people who had likeminded thoughts. Sarah Palin, it's the same way, only what they represent is quite a bit different obviously, but it's an identity … and then the cult following. Jerry Garcia, he was beloved, and I think that Sarah is definitely beloved."

Conroy also asks the big question about 2012 and finds that this blog ring could play a big role if Palin decides to run for president, a run which some supporters say will happen (Feb. 6, 2011, according to one) and others say won't. Here's Nicole Coulter again:  "Think of how many volunteers she'll have -- just imagine that, We might not be that competent or qualified or that smart, who knows, but we will work our butts off for her."

Read the entire profile, here. And for what it's worth, we've spent time around both concert cultures, and to us the "Palin-Heads" seem more like Phish fans than Deadheads.