A fun clip, and noteworthy for Palin fans given the state involved. It’s Terry Branstad, who served as governor from 1983 to 1999 and was known for a bit o’ tax-and-spending in his time when he wasn’t busy appointing a pro-choicer to be lieutenant governor. Question: Er, why would Sarahcuda back a guy like him instead of “true conservative” upstart Bob Vander Plaats, the de facto Chuck DeVore of this race? She’s … not really saying:

Iowa, your great state’s motto is “Our liberties we prize and our rights we will maintain.” That motto will be well served by voting for Terry Branstad for governor next Tuesday!

Please join me in supporting Governor Branstad’s campaign. Visit his website here, and follow him on Facebook and Twitter.

– Sarah Palin

That’s the whole post; follow the link for unhappy comments. So why’d she do it? Well, Branstad’s way ahead and Huckabee distinguished himself as Vander Plaats’s biggest booster long ago, so Palin probably made a hard choice and backed the guy who’s most likely to win in a state that’ll be crucial to her if she takes the plunge in 2012. (Minor complicating factor: Romney endorsed Branstad a while ago so there’s no assurance for Palin of a reciprocal endorsement from TB down the line.) It’s the same situation as California, really, where Sarahcuda snubbed DeVore to back a candidate who’s more likely to be in a position to do her a favor eventually. Grassroots righties aren’t happy — check out this stemwinder from an Iowa blogger declaring that Palin has committed political suicide — but who cares? They were unhappy after she backed McCain and Fiorina and got over that. What’s one more minor cynical endorsement if it helps her strategically? Exit question for Palinistas: Heart-ache?