"GO FOR it, Sarah Palin!" writes The Etceterist.

And who is the anonymous Etceterist? He is an astute blogger with Vogue connections, I'm told.

Here is something this writer has to say on Wowowow.com in defense of the aspiring GOP vice-presidential candidate and the $150,000 said to have been spent on her campaign wardrobe. (I paraphrase for emphasis.):

"These revelations could actually be a wonderful thing for the world of American fashion, especially at a time when consumer confidence is waning. Compared to the French (no one in Paris is giving Carla Bruni a hard time for dressing the role of first lady).

"Americans maintain a very ambiguous relationship to fashion. We want it, we revere it on reality shows like 'Project Runway' and 'Stylista' and 'Ugly Betty.' We insist our celebrities dress well -- hence the success we are reminded of in the obituaries of Richard Blackwell and his annual worst dressed list. But if you are found out actually spending money on fashion, style or grooming (such as John Edwards' pricey haircuts or Cindy McCain's earrings or way back to Jackie Kennedy's Cassini frocks) we attack the person for being wasteful and superficial.

"Now how the hell are retailers expected to move 'the merch' with this attitude? This is a very tired point of view, hypocritical to its roots in a capitalistic system where, at least in Manhattan, the fashion business is the No. 2 revenue producer for the city, second only to finance. (Probably now, it's No. 1 given the failures of finance.)"

SCUTTLEBUTT has it that the movie "Julie and Julia," written and directed by Nora Ephron about the late cooking maven Julia Child is in the can, finished, and wonderful. (It is based on the book by Julie Powell.) And its star, the amazing Meryl Streep, is said to be "unbelievably fabulous" co-starring with Stanley Tucci. Meryl's is justifiably an Oscar-winning turn.

But wait a minute! Aren't "they" holding back Meryl as "Julia" because she has another Oscar turn coming any minute in the film adaptation of John Patrick Shanley's Pulitzer-plus-Tony stage play "Doubt"? If you've seen coming attractions of Meryl emoting as the fearsome Sister Aloysius Beauvier against Philip Seymour Hoffman as Father Flynn -- well, then you know why nobody Oscar-wise wants Meryl competing against herself this year.

Thus, Meryl as Julia Child has had to go back into the kitchen and wait for August 2009 to reveal her wonders.

HAVE YOU ever gone back to see a Broadway show and found it better than it was opening night? This happened when I took a 10-year-old to see "Young Frankenstein" because he'd loved "Spaceballs" and had become a Mel Brooks fan.

Surprise! "Young Mr. Steen" as he likes to be called onstage -- Roger Bart and company -- has turned this into a fast-paced laugh riot. All the cast replacements are simply terrific. That total original, Christopher Fitzgerald, Tony nominated as Igor, has grown larger than the Monster. He had the cast, which should be jaded, in hysterics. The sex jokes go right over the heads of the prepubescent. So here's one where you can safely take the kids. And I had a helluva good time, too.

IN CHICAGO if they still bothered to dance in the streets, they'd be ditsy over Tommy Tune's new musical "Turn of the Century." The Sun-Times gave it a rave, calling it "a snow globe beauty with the appeal of Fred and Ginger escaping from reality back in the Great Depression." (Wow! Well, timing is everything!)

Jeff Daniels and Rachel York are at the Goodman Theater through Nov. 2 and then the powers that be search for a Broadway house. "It's so beautiful and I'm so proud of it," burbles Tommy. And, as I keep telling you, he is the only person in theater history ever to win nine Tonys in four different categories.

Critic Hedy Weiss says of "Century" -- "the most sophisticated stagecraft ... zany musical anachronisms are a big part of the fun ... Tune's altogether magical staging possesses a touch of the eternal ... a welcome Valentine for a time of broken piggy banks."

MORE magazine nabbed Jane Fonda, Tea Leoni and Sharon Stone for their "40 plus" cover breaking the age barrier. Inside they asked a lot of famous over-40s to seize and "Own Your Age." People like Martina Navratilova, Amy Tan, Rosanna Arquette, Judy Collins, Susan Love and many more donned T-shirts to prove it. This occasioned a photo shoot with the gifted Art Streiber. I liked Martina's quote best. At 52, she says: "I've been over the hill longer than most people have careers. I've been in the twilight of my career, so it's OK. It's like, cool, you know; it's like, 'Watch this!'"

OUR HOT firefighter Denis Leary, multi-nominated for "Rescue Me," goes to Boston Nov. 15 to host the Comics Come Home benefit for the Cam Neely cancer fighters. Publishers Weekly loves his new book, from Viking, "Why We Suck: A Feel Good Guide to Staying Fat, Loud, Lazy and Stupid." Horrible title, but I do love Denis.

(E-mail Liz Smith at MES3838@aol.com, or write to her c/o Tribune Media Services, 2225 Kenmore Ave., Suite 114, Buffalo, NY 14207.)