KEEPING THE BRAND ALIVE: "What does she have to say? She can't even describe what she reads."

You may remember a guy named Barack Obama, who came from nowhere (And nobody knew anything about him!) to suddenly be elected president.

Now someone else about whom nothing is known wants to come from nowhere & run everything. Who is she? And which mysterious, conspiratorial figures are controlling her? NO ONE KNOWS!

The big mystery, even to those who once worked closely with the former VP candidate: Besides Vincent, who is working with Palin to keep her brand alive? 

Good question. Who is this woman? Rumor has it she was a governor of a low-population state for a yr. or two, but we can't even confirm that.

Oh, look. Further bitchery about this "Gov.(?)" Palin.

Palin's bookers are said to be asking for $100,000 per speech, but an industry expert tells Page Six: "The big lecture buyers in the US are paralyzed with fear about booking her, basically because they think she is a blithering idiot."

Many big lecture venues are subscription series, "and they don't want to tick people off," said our source. "Palin is polarizing, and some subscribers might cancel if she's on the lineup." Other lecture buyers are universities, which have a leftist slant, and corporations, which dislike controversy.

"Palin is so uninteresting to so many groups -- unless they are interested in moose hunting," said our insider. "What does she have to say? She can't even describe what she reads."

And don't you just love that the gossip page of the NY Post has to attempt shots at universities, "which have a leftist slant, and corporations, which dislike controversy." Ah. No rightist slant at corporations, merely a desire to avoid controversy. And no rightist slant at the Post, either.