It’s been just over three weeks since Obama’s presidential win sent Sarah Palin back to Alaska, but that doesn’t mean the defeated VP hopeful has sunk back under the radar and into virtual anonymity. Far from it — Palin has been seen and heard more post-election than she ever was during the campaign, and frankly, I’m a little relieved. Like her or not, you can’t deny the woman’s charisma…and knack for providing media fodder like no one else has since, well, since Monica Lewinsky and her infamous blue dress. There’s just something about women, politics, and clothes, isn’t there? After the jump, 8 things we’ve learned about Sarah Palin since the elections, including, yes, exactly how she spent that $150,000 clothing allowance.

Hillary Clinton laid pretty low following her withdrawal from the Presidential campaign back in June, although her historic run was somewhat overshadowed in the last leg of the race by Sarah Palin’s vice presidential bid. Now comes news that Clinton is a strong contender for secretary of state, replacing Condoleezza Rice. At the same time, a new New York essay asserts Clinton and Palin have set women back. Together, the author says, the women seemingly fit two sexist female stereotypes—The Bitch and The Ditz. I don’t entirely disagree with writer Amanda Fortini’s assessment of Palin’s mental prowess, but I do think she not only sells Clinton short, but misjudges her impact entirely—and that history will soon prove otherwise.

Hi, I’m single. Like, what’s up with that? Word. Can I buy you a vodka tonic, super fox?

Okay – let me interrupt for a second, and preempt our regularly scheduled programming to get some things off my hairy, muscular, barrel chest. I’m guessing you heard that the guy with the lizard neck lost the presidential election to the guy with the lady fingers, right? So…

I normally make a conscious choice to reject the idea of identity politics, which is to say, to gravitate towards politicians who are just like me, either ideologically, or, on a more base level, culturally. I am instantly distrustful of politicians who tell me they drink beer just like me, or listen to the music I listen to, or who suggest that I vote for them because their biological fortunes confer an expertise others cannot possibly claim. These notions are nothing more than cheap, aspirational lies.

The passing of Prop 8, which bans gay marriage in the State of California, has been causing a riot on The Frisky, but that’s nothing compared to what been going on in the streets and in the gay community.  Borrowing chants from the Civil Rights movement, homosexuals have rallied together this week to fight for their rights to have families.

The Urban Dictionary word of the day for Nov. 5 was “Obama baby.” Definition: “A child conceived after Obama was proclaimed President by way of celebratory sex, or any baby born under Barack Obama’s term(s).” Yesterday’s was “election erection.” Participating in the electoral process this week really turned some people on! A quick glance at Craigslist’s missed connections listings showed that a bunch of people narrowly missed the possible loves of their lives on Tuesday night (keep reading to see a few). Did you get lucky or have a sexless night because of the election results?

A friend sent me this video, of the President-Elect and the soon-to-be First Lady, doing a little happy dance together behind the scenes at one of his rallies, not knowing a camera was capturing the moment. At the end you can see Barack mouth in his Michelle’s ear, “I love you so much.” My friend wrote: “She’s a big cheerleader of his and keeps him in line at the same time…men flourish around that behavior. Behind every good man is an extraordinary woman. How can you watch that and ever, ever settle?” To which I thought, “Damn straight.”

One of the biggest defenses used by people who are not in favor of gay marriage—even from those who don’t oppose civil unions or other gay rights issues—is that marriage is an institution that’s founded on connecting mothers and fathers to their children. Writes Jennifer Roback Morse for the National Review, in her article “8 Is Not Hate”:

“I view marriage as a gender-based institution that attaches mothers and fathers to each other and to their children. Those of us who support Proposition 8 believe that children deserve at least the chance to have a relationship with a mom and a dad. That isn’t hateful toward anyone.”

Righty-o! Using “the children” as a shield for bigotry seems like shifty parenting to me, but whatevs. When the divorce rate is at 50% in this country, marriage is already under attack—by straight people!

Yesterday, you guys had a lot to say about the Narciso Rodriguez dress Michelle Obama wore on election night. And you weren’t the only ones. Everyone is voicing their views on whether the dress made a good statement, or a horrible, ill-fitting one. Currently, a People.com poll has 65 percent saying they hated Michelle’s fashion choice, and an Us Weekly poll found that 79.6 percent didn’t like her dress. Perhaps Michelle’s fashion choices will help Americans take more fashion risks over the next four years? Keep reading…

Last night, an African-American man made television history!  Sure, Barack has got our future in his very capable hands, but Will.i.am transported us straight into “Star Trek” territory! That’s right, the beat box behind the Black Eyed Peas, who also made the very viral “Yes We Can” video, was teleported into the CNN studio from Grant Park in Chicago. At a such a crucial time in our history, Anderson Cooper united nerds across this great land by saying, “Let’s see if we can beam him in.” Then, right there, before our very eyes, the first man ever in hologram, FOR REAL, on national television! 

Okay, so Will.i.am got it a little mixed up and said he felt like he was in “Star Wars.”  But, Cooper quickly corrected him that, much like cell phones, it was in fact The Trek that was responsible for this kind of totally awesome technology! [FYI, “Star Wars” had pre-recorded hologram messages (“Help me Obi-Wan Kenobi, you’re my only hope.”) but could not beam people anywhere, though that sure would have come in handy.] Sigh, we love the Coop!

So, yesterday was a historic amazing day, with the first African-American winning the Presidency of the United States. It was also a bit of letdown, as it became clear that much of America still doesn’t like the idea of gay people getting married. But there was more good news! Three anti-choice measures failed! Amendment 48 in Colorado, which would have granted fertilized eggs fill rights, was rejected by 73% of voters; Measure 11 in South Dakota, which would have banned abortion save a very vague medical exception, was defeated; and Proposition 4 in California, which would have required parental notification, also didn’t pass.

On another note, Proposition K, which would have decriminalized prostitution in San Francisco, lost by 16 percentage points. [WOW and Feministing]

Oh Levi. Will we ever see your handsome face again now that YOUR road to the Whitehouse is over? Something tells us your 18-year-old patience will not keep you around long enough for a potential Palin Presidential run in 2012, which is why we’re thinking about what you’re doing RIGHT NOW. After the jump, some of our theories about what’s currently on the young lad’s agenda.

Last night was absolutely historical and I’m not going to hide my glee. Americans came out in record numbers and voted for a significant change in the White House and in Washington, with quite a few states (Ohio and Florida among them) going blue over their traditional red. As Barack Obama said last night, “That is the true genius of America—that America can change. Our union can be perfected. And what we have already achieved gives us hope for what we can and must achieve tomorrow.” Unfortunately, while there’s much to proud of today, regardless of whether you voted for Obama, there’s also a few disappointments. It appears that all but one of the gay marriage bans have passed, including, probably, Proposition 8 in California. Really America? We’re still that scared of gay people eating wedding cake? Really?

So, let’s say your political candidate of choice lost last night…or years ago. If you’re driving a vintage Volvo that supports Mondale/Ferraro or you’re too distraught to cover up the McCain/Palin sticker on the back of your Durango with one that says MY OTHER CAR IS A ZAMBONI (I’m looking at you, hockey moms), here’s how to remove it completely. Because if ever there was a time for change, it’s now. 

President-Elect Barack Obama and his wife Michelle share a smooch at his victory rally in Chicago last night, after his historic win. [Chicago, IL, 11/4/08]

We’re pretty sure that you’re looking at your clock right now, impatiently waiting for the polls to close and the vote tallies to start coming in. But you still have a few more hours to kill, so why not fill that time by taking a look back at everything that happened leading up to today?

Today, I got up at five o’clock this morning to vote. At the polling place, I waited in line for two and a half hours. The line snaked down a hall, around a corner, back up the hall, and then all the way around again along the wall. Some people were voting for Obama, and some people were voting for McCain—but, in a way, it didn’t really matter. No matter who you’re voting for, or who wins, this is quite possibly the most important presidential election in US history. And it’s pretty awesome that we get to be a part of making history by voting. So, if the Frisky is your home away from home online, and we hope it is, as it is ours, you can be a part of Election Day on The Frisky, courtesy of CNN.com, with a special widget created just for Frisky readers. Continuously updated with breaking news and election returns as they happen, the Frisky’s electoral widget is located on the right-hand side of every page, so you can watch this historical election unfold before your eyes in real time. [CNN.com]

Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama and his wife Michelle cast their votes this morning in Chicago, Illinois. Of course, it’s a secret ballot, so we have no idea who they’d like to be president.

We’ve been trying to figure out why people (um, men) find Sarah Palin sexy, but not the other women involved in the presidential campaign. Michelle Obama, Cindy McCain and Jill Biden are all very attractive, stylish women but haven’t been branded with the “sexy-label” like Palin. We think all this business about Palin being sexy is her own doing.

“Ms. Palin frightens me both for my country and for my grandchildren.”—Jane B., 73

In late August, Lyra Kilston, 31, and Quinn Latimer, 30, two not-very-political editors for Modern Painters magazine, found themselves suddenly immersed in the Presidential campaign. Enraged over the selection of Governor Sarah Palin as the Republican vice presidential nominee, they sent an e-mail to 40 friends.

“We are not against Sarah Palin as a woman, a mother, or, for that matter, a parent of a pregnant teenager, but solely as a rash, incompetent, and all together devastating choice for Vice President,” the New Yorkers wrote. “She was chosen by John McCain specifically because he believes that American women will vote for any female candidate regardless of their qualifications. He is wrong.”