In an era of ever more polarizing political figures, former Alaska governor Sarah Palin may take first prize. While conservatives drool over the gun-toting, bible-thumping, Washington-ripping hockey mom, liberals sneer over her (contrived) folksy speech and desire to return America to a bygone cultural era (one that most of us have either forgotten, or are fortunate enough to have never known).

To capitalize on the former Miss Wasilla’s contentious appeal, a number of Christmas card companies and political websites have produced Sarah Palin Christmas cards, oftentimes with a humorous or mocking tone. Three such examples appear here.

In the Palin Christmas card to the right, a smiling Sarah crouches over the heart-shot carcass of a reindeer (presumably Rudolph, himself, if the shiny red nose is any indication). She is grasping a rifle and an infant dangles on her chest in a camouflage-pattern papoose carrier. The words “You betcha it’s Christmas!” appear below the photoshopped image. In an accompanying story on the Weekly World News website, it is sarcastically implied that the “beast” was actually a Russian-built spy-elk created in a lab to be used as a weapon against America. They further surmise that if Barack Obama had come upon this death-machine, he would have thrown down his weapon and conceded to unconditional negotiations with the enemy cyborg, thereby endangering America.

In another Sarah Palin Christmas card, a racier version of Palin again appears to have felled Santa’s lead reindeer. Above the exclamation “OOPS”, she appears in a short Christmas dress and black high-heel boots with her still-smoking rifle. In the background, before a range of snowy mountains, Santa and the rest of his sleigh-driving team look on in horror as one of the former Alaska governor’s famed hunting helicopters circles overhead.

In the following cartoon-style Palin Christmas card, a trio of Santa’s horned crew prepare for a night of mischief-making against their nemesis. Donning body-armor and Kevlar helmets, they are pictured filling a large sack with spray paint and toilet tissue. At the bottom of the Christmas card is the caption, “Santa’s reindeer prepare for a stop at Sarah Palin’s house.”

As far as I’m concerned, I don’t see how spending 2 ½ years as the governor of one of the nation’s most geographically-remote and least populous states (before quitting) makes one fit to be president. The lack of basic political and historical knowledge, which she has displayed in a series of interviews, would be comical if it were not so scary. But I suppose that the Palin-for-President debate will continue to rage for the foreseeable future – or at least for as long as the national media continues its bizarre Palin-centric ratings-inspired love affair.