In Switch, Palin Flames Out as Hillary Soars

Sarah Palin's resignation speech on Sunday showed how far she's fallen, writes Maureen Dowd: "Once a blazingly confident media darling," the now-former Alaska governor has become a ranting, whiny "Nixon with hair extensions." It's a marked contrast from Hillary Clinton, who on the same day gave an hourlong interview to Meet the Press. Her trajectory has been just the opposite—once "paranoid and press-loathing," the secretary of State is now radiating self-assurance.

The wonkishness that once made Clinton seem aloof has become a benefit at the State Department, writes the New York Times columnist, and she and Barack Obama have a genuine rapport that has surprised everyone. What a difference from Palin, who used to say women who wanted "to progress the country" should work harder than men, but has since decided to coast. "She's morphed into what the Republicans always caricatured Hillary as—preachy, screechy, and angry." (More Sarah Palin stories.)