Do you, Mr. Jones?

Sarah Palin is the "Transformers" of American politics, and there's nothing the media can do to stop either.

Journalists tend to believe they know what's best. It's a bit smug, but almost inherent when you follow a beat so closely for a while and see its inner workings. When Gov. Palin becomes a leader of the Republican Party and Transformers 2 explodes as the biggest movie in America, those who cover politics and entertainment, respectively, are left to scratch their heads.

Transformers 2 was panned by critics but now on pace to be one of the most successful films of all time. It's made almost $450 million worldwide, all with a run-time of two and a half hours and a 20 percent approval rating on RottenTomatoes.com. I was dragged to the first one, and although I am passing on this edition of the saga, I have no doubt Michael Bay returns with more GMC trucks, robot philosophy and buildings knocked in two. In short, it was something safe and accessible to the masses, a guaranteed blockbuster with everything thrown in.

I'd add that Sarah Palin has returned to the scene, but of course she never left. With a new profile in Vanity Fair that she declined comment for and heavy turnout everytime she promotes a cause, Palin is circumventing the media. That Vanity Fair piece points out the most puzzling thing about Palin, how can someone who is so proud to be ignorant so successful in national politics? She's done a great job convincing the country that the media hates seeing average people succeed on a national level, something that may not be entirely wrong.

Just because the average reporter makes somewhere around $35,000, doesn't make him or her in touch with the random citizen. Sometimes that college diploma, intellectual curiosity and knowledge of how sausage is made creates such a distance between reporter and readership. For all the touting they do of Frost/Nixon, Chuck Schumer, Doubt, Russ Feingold, The Wrestler or Barbara Boxer, certain politicians and movies do not have the mainstream appeal. The sooner reporters realize that "simple" sells, that people just want things that are big and dumb (certainly not a bad thing, see: "Rock 'n Roll"), the better off they'll be. Otherwise, reporters will slip further out of touch.

Supposedly, when everything in the world turns awful people still want to spend $9 for a movie escape. They can't afford a vacation or that new car, but will always want to see something big and shiny blow up. I guess it makes sense. And in my view, Palin and Transformers embody that notion better than anything else. Give the people what they want and hope things turn out okay.

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Vanity Fair's Sarah Palin profile

Transformers 2 on Rotten Tomatoes