Rich Lowry is the latest among many to wave Sarah Palin’s approval rating in Alaska around as proof of competence, despite all evidence to the contrary:

The first days after her announcement brought gross misreporting and personal smears … followed by front-page Washington Post and New York Times reports on her tenure in Alaska that were so hostile they left it a mystery why she has an 86 percent approval rating as governor.

Is it really that big a mystery?  It’s hard not to be “the most popular governor in America” when you’re literally handing out money:

Americans have been hit hard by months of $120- and $130-a-barrel oil, but in Alaska, they’ve hit the jackpot.

Congiolosi this month expects a check from the government for as much as $29,000 before taxes — a combination of the annual dividend he and his large family have earned from the state’s oil wealth and a special $1,200-per-person energy rebate signed into law last month by Gov. Sarah Palin.

The fuel givebacks will cost the state $750 million. With a temporary freeze on gasoline taxes and a long-standing program to help poor rural Alaskans pay their fuel bills, the state this summer is handing out $1 billion in energy relief. Though the amount of the dividend won’t be announced until this morning, analysts say that even a family of four will probably get a check for up to $13,000.

Thanks to record oil price gouging profits, Palin is essentially paying the average Alaskan family’s bills for two or three months a year (which makes you wonder about the 20% of residents who don’t approve of the job she’s doing).  I’m guessing if George Bush was handing out $13,000 checks, his approval rating would be a bit higher too.