Now that she's no longer the governor of Alaska or the Republican vice-presidential candidate, why is Sarah Palin still such a popular figure - even a celebrity? The media aren't quite sure what to do with her because Palin embodies so many contradictions: she is both the moose hunter and the pageant queen; both the folksy populist and the silencer of democratic participation. In this research presentation, we will combine two methods of communication analysis -- media studies and rhetorical criticism -- to explore those dialectical tensions in Palin's gender performance in order to uncover how the underlying root metaphor of meat-eating (such as language referring to Palin as an "attack dog," "cougar," and "red meat" speaker) is both a source of power and oppression in the media discourse surrounding Sarah Palin.