Palin is totally unqualified to be president of the United States.
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I agree that she is currently unqualified. And she has had her times when she doesn’t come across as very smart. I think, however, that if she articulates the conservative case well over the long-haul, and gains savvy in the political game, she may be president someday, or may inspire someone else who will be a good president. Ronald Reagan was “unqualified”, too. He was a b-movie actor with a B.A. in economics from an obscure college. He built the case for himself and his approach after he left the governorship of California over the course of many years of thinking, writing, appearances, a failed presidential campaign (against Ford, right?) and wasn’t president until he was an old man.
[I completely bought into the media’s portrayal of Reagan as dumb as a rock, at the time. It was only when I got into my tax law course in Law School in the late 80s that the lightbulb went on, and I was really grateful for his simplification of the tax code, for the benefit of ordinary taxpayers.]
I think both the gung-ho supporters and the virulent detractors may be overheated in their opinions and predictions. I think she will be a net positive influence in conservative politics, and perhaps that’s all that can be surmised now.
In the meantime, at least I get to see some heartwarming pictures of Todd Palin and family, occasionally.
Reagan was an honestly serious and thoughtful man all his life, even when he was a "B actor." Palin is a lightweight clearly uncomfortable dealing with serious issues. Sean Hannity's interview of her from several weeks ago was just re-aired on his show. I literally watched her cobble together trivial thoughts in her mind in an attempt to sound like she knows what she's talking about. It's just sad that anyone would compare this woman to Reagan.
Her rise is a complete fluke stemming from McCain's devilish desire to shake up staid presidential politics, sort of like a schoolboy prank that backfired.
We just had a lightweight Republican president who just about destroyed the party and the economy, and then handed the country to the Democrats. The last thing we need is another lightweight, superficial thinker leading the ticket in 2012.