The Washington Post analyzes Sarah Palin's endorsement record this year. Can you say "sucks balls?"

Courtesy of the Washington Post: 

Former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin (R) was in Kansas on Thursday, helping incumbent Sen. Pat Roberts (R) rally his base in the face of a surprisingly tough reelection fight against independent candidate Greg Orman. The question that immediately came to mind, though, was: Can Palin help? 

There's a conventional wisdom that what Palin brings to a race is grassroots energy, particularly among more conservative voters. In a midterm election that most indicators suggest will see heavier Republican turnout than two years ago, getting Palin to work that magic on Kansas conservatives seems like a winning strategy. 

But is the conventional wisdom correct? Or, more to the point from Roberts' standpoint: Can she deliver a victory?

The Post then goes on to share this graphic which indicates how Palin's endorsements have fared during the last three election cycles.

Ouch!

The Post then goes on to sum up the article like this: 

When Palin's candidates have won, they've won big:  

Sasse and Ernst, for example, each won their primaries by over 25 points. And when her candidates have lost, they've generally lost pretty handily, too. 

Experienced political watchers can read something else into this data point: In races that aren't as close, Palin's endorsement doesn't mean as much. Political endorsements aren't unimportant, but they aren't going to give a candidate a ten-point bump in the final results. Which means that it's hard to judge the influence of Palin, if any, on these races. Or, put another way: Even in the wins, Palin's influence probably didn't play a significant role.

Personally I think it's even worse than the  Washington Post is indicating.

I think that when the candidate is well ahead a Palin endorsement does not either give them a bump or kneecap them. But if it is close, it seems to me that Palin usually provides the final kiss of death.

Which by the way is not particularly good news for the next victim candidate on her list:  

Republican U.S. Senate candidate Rob Maness is getting campaign help this weekend from former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin. 

The Maness campaign says Palin will visit a Jefferson Parish restaurant on Saturday to eat alligator with Maness. The event is a nod to a Maness TV ad that compares his campaign against two members of Congress to facing down alligators in a Louisiana swamp.

Wait, Palin is going to devour cold blooded reptiles with Manness? 

Isn't that cannibalism?