Sarah Palin's Kiss Of Life -- And Death

Sarah Palin annointed some 51 candidates with her coveted endorsement in the mid-term elections and those candidates did well overall except, ironically, in most of the highest of high-profile races.

In baseball parlance, the former half-term Republican governor of Alaska had a blistering .586 batting average, endorsing the winners in 29 of 46 races. (Results have not been finalized in five others, including the Alaska senate and Minnesota governor's races.)

Big wins included Senate candidates Marco Rubio in Florida, Rand Paul in Kentucky, Kelly Ayotte in New Hampshire and Pat Toomey in Pennsylvania. Big loses included Senate candidates Carly Fiorina in California, Christine O'Donnell in Delaware and Sharron Angle in Nevada, as well as gubernatorial candidate Meg Whitman in California.

It is tempting to suggest that the Palin endorsement hurt the candidates who lost, but that's too simple. It certainly did not hurt loser Angle in conservative Nevada nor winner Toomey in center-leaning Pennsylvania, while it probably did not help either Fiorina or Whitman in liberal California, and it should noted that she did not endorse Tea Partiers in several primary races.

The Palin endorsements, of course, come with a big string attached: Support for her presumed 2012 run for the Republican presidential nomination.