Obviously this is Bill Kristol’s “Baby, please don’t go. I’ll change. I know I can change” plea to me to stick around:

Sarah Palin could rehabilitate her political career with a 2014 Senate run, Bill Kristol said Sunday.

“I think the way Palin would possibly resurrect herself, if that’s the right word, or rehabilitate herself I guess a better way of putting it, [is] run for Senate in Alaska in 2014,” The Weekly Standard editor said during a Web interview with ABC.

“I’m not urging that, I’m just saying if I were her adviser I would say, ‘Take on the incumbent, you have to win a primary, then you have to beat an incumbent Democrat. It’s not easy.’ But if she did that, suddenly if she can imagine that, you know, ‘Sarah Palin, freshman senator, Jan. 15, in Washington having beaten an incumbent,’ that would be pretty interesting,” he said.

Kristol, who has yet to take me up on an offer I extended to him for lunch, then explains that Palin does have, y’know,  a little baggage she needs to, y’know,  kind-a sort-a, unload like so much unwanted cellulite:

Kristol added that Palin’s departure before the end of her term as governor hurt her leadership image.

“That I think is something she has to recover from in terms of being a serious leader in the party. She still has a lot of loyalty, she can still shape the debate, she has a great political touch,” he said.

Sen. Mark Begich (D-Alaska) faces a tough reelection battle in 2014 but has an easier path to victory if he faces former Gov. Sarah Palin (R), according to a new poll from Democratic firm Public Policy Polling.
Begich leads Alaska Lt. Gov. Mead Treadwell (R), the GOP’s current frontrunner, by a narrow 44 percent to 40 percent.

Palin leads the pack of potential and declared GOP challengers, but trails Begich by 12 points, 52 percent to 40 percent in a potential general election showdown.

Oh, Scarecrow Bill Kristol, I think I’ll miss you most of all….