LEWISTON – Some people say they love her; some say they hate her. But one thing is for sure, most have heard of Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin.

The former Republican vice presidential candidate, who dominated headlines and dinner party discussions after her August debut as Sen. John McCain’s running mate, was the subject of the Great Falls Forum on Thursday at the Lewiston Public Library.

“Whether it was her down-home, folksy shout-out to third-graders, ‘you betchas’ or blogs that debated whether or not her lip liner was actually a tattoo, Sarah Palin was immediately a very hot commodity,” said Stephanie Kelley-Romano, a professor specializing in political communication and rhetoric at Bates College.

Kelley-Romano focused her discussion on the effectiveness of Palin’s vice presidential nomination acceptance speech at the Republican National Convention and the popularity of Tina Fey’s characterization of Palin on NBC’s “Saturday Night Live.” Kelley-Romano used YouTube video clips and changes in her own speech pattern to illustrate her major points.

So why did Republicans flock to support Palin?

She fulfilled expectations about her role as a woman and vice presidential candidate through her rhetoric, according to Kelley-Romano.

“Those of you who saw the speech, you know that absolutely Sarah Palin delivered,” Kelley-Romano said. “The vice president has to be willing to put aside their own agenda and adopt the positions of the administration. For Sarah Palin to slip into this role really seemed natural. What is a better running mate for a powerful, macho-boy president than a cute, little, perky beauty queen?”

Part of the challenge of being a female candidate, Kelley-Romano said, is balancing traditional femininity with competence for the job being sought.

“She associates herself with very traditional notions of womanhood and issues,” Kelley-Romano said. “Palin is able to make a political issue or a potential platform piece into something that’s based on her experience. (That) is much more feminine and appropriate for women in the political sphere, I would argue, than is expertise.”

Kelley-Romano read passages of Palin’s speech in which Palin used her children to emphasize certain points. Palin spoke of her youngest child, who has Down syndrome, to claim parents of special needs children would have an advocate in the White House. She used the example of her older son, who was heading to Iraq, to argue why John McCain would be the best commander in chief.

Palin’s rhetorical style also enabled her to effectively criticize the Democratic candidates, Kelley-Romano said, though not without taking a toll on her own legitimacy.

“Her quippiness is effective and her sarcasm works to give a speech that is amazingly effective, as we see with the bounce in the polls,” Kelley-Romano said. “But she continually undermines herself with these kinds of quippy, sarcastic one-liners. Can you imagine if Joe Biden or Barack Obama or John McCain was saying ‘you betcha?’ and winking at their audience? I mean, it’s ridiculous.”

Palin’s popularity declined following the convention speech, Kelley-Romano said.

“Whether or not you are a man or a woman, you do need to demonstrate basic political competence and media savvy,” Kelley-Romano said, referring to Palin’s high-profile but failed interviews with TV news anchors Charlie Gibson and Katie Couric.

But don’t think this is the end of Palin-mania.

“Sarah Palin is not going to go away,” Kelley-Romano said.