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In this post-Rovian era, staying on message has become akin to religion, albeit one in which eternal torment comes at the hands of Chris Matthews and Larry King rather than a winged harbinger of doom. In light of this nigh-biblical adherence to talking points and fetishistic desire for a monolithic platform upon which to engage in oral gymnastics, the recent CNN news story on VP candidate Sarah Palin's increasing tendency to go rogue comes as a bizarre surprise.

The painful truth is that it is surprising. Modern politicians are more guilty of herd mentality than ever - the common assumption being that only the weaker members who go off-message will be devoured by the ravening hordes of assembled media and pundits slavering for blood and salacious headlines. In reality, these herds are more like zombie hordes, shambling aimlessly from one platform position to the next and wandering off occasional to rend the flesh from the bones of unwary taxpayers. And it's this very horde mentality that makes it so dangerous.

Now, there's very little question that Sarah Palin is going off message during her appearances because she has decided that she'd rather look out for herself than the McCain campaign. But at least she evinces some semblance of independent thought. Granted, that independent thought doesn't seem tainted by such concepts as rational thought, a grounding in reality, or the scruples and ethics that serve to bind a free and functional society together, but nonetheless - it's independent thought. I may not agree with many of Gov. Palin's independent thoughts, but regardless, the fact that she has them is comforting since they're a vital component of effective governance.

It matters a great deal that our top elected officials are sometimes willing to break from the monolithic political school of thought. For the last eight years the country has been lead by an administration staffed by yes-men, sycophants and assorted hangers-on, bringing us a Justice Department filled with political appointees, billions of dollars wasted in Iraq, and not one White House sex scandal to distract us from any of it. By extension, one might think it would be wise, during this election cycle, to find someone to question the decisions and thought processes of our next leader of the free world. Someone who might take a moment to question just how it is we propose to quell a popular insurgency with only 30,000 troops when the Soviets couldn't do it with more than 100,000, perhaps? Or maybe act as a voice of reason when the urge to add Belgium to the Axis of Evil grows all-consuming?

Sadly, wisdom has not yet come to the masses, with political analysts questioning how Biden and Palin seem to contradict their candidates at every turn. Sen. McCain, for his part, just flashes his Halloween-appropriate Chucky-esque smile, the one that says he'd enjoy impaling you on a lattice of sharpened bamboo stakes and says, "Did you really think your could get a pair of mavericky mavericks like us mavericks to agree on everything except being mavericks, which we are?" But since Americans now want their politicians to offer easily categorized talking points that offer no room for debate, interpretation, or dissent among the party faithful, any flashes of independence are actually signs of desperation, or possibly a Xanax addiction.

But, if the voting public, pundits and the candidates themselves are dead set on single-minded candidates who can whole-heartedly embrace a single message with unholy determination, VH1 has them covered.