Greetings, loyal minions. Your Maximum Leader was just mentioning in a previous post that nothing prepares someone for becoming President of the United States. He wrote in that post that some Governorships might provide approximate experience due to the size of the state, the role of the state in the world economy and the diverse population of the state. In the comments to that post the Smallholder and your Maximum Leader exchanged comments on which other states had powerful governors. (Smallholder mentioning Maryland and your Maximum Leader mentioning Virginia.)

Well… Thanks to the Wall Street Journal and a quick google search, we have an expert of gubernatorial power. Dr. Thad Beyle of UNC - Chapel Hill. Dr. Beyle has a made a career of studying gubernatorial power. He even ranks them. You can see these rankings in word format on Dr. Thad Beyle’s website on gubernatorial power. According to Dr. Beyle’s 2007 ranking the most powerful governors in the nation, in alphabetical order are: Alaska, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, Utah and West Virginia. Your Maximum Leader was a little disappointed in Virginia’s rating. But after reading Dr. Beyle’s judging criteria, your Maximum Leader sees how the score was determined.

So… To put this post in a more political frame… Apparently Sarah Palin was one of the most powerful governors in the United States. (Mitt Romney was also a very powerful governor while serving in MA.) That counts for something. She was, by Dr. Beyle’s reckoning, more powerful a governor than either George W Bush or Bill Clinton…

Carry on.