While I too have thought we were going overboard on Palin, it really isn’t surprising that there are so many threads about her - her sudden and unanticipated appearance on the national stage leaves everyone scrambling to figure her out (think of it as the Straight Dope Vetting Process). That particular tempest will die out in a week or two.
I’m not sure it’s fair to suppose that folks are starting threads out of vanity (tho’, of course, some folks do). If you’ve ever tried to participate in a large, fast moving thread, you know how the discussion can wander all over the place (and sometimes clear out of the building). Good ideas can be lost in the maelstrom, so there is some utility in having threads on specific items in a case like the current Palin discussion.