First off, what I said was not mutually exclusive.
Palin’s rollout was horrendous and in the end, she did end up having higher unfavorables than favorables in the general. The base loved her but she did herself no favors with the Couric and Gibson interviews. I am not saying she hurt McCain in general. She certainly enthused the base and helped fundraising, but it did turn off independents and democrats.
It was McCain’s job to bring in the indies and Dems. Weren’t we told that’s why he was the one guy who could beat Obama? He himself picked Palin becuase he needed to shore the base. The rest was his job and he failed miserably. As for Palin, she was unfairly and mercilessly attacked by a lying corrupt media 24/7 and no one could have withstood that without some loss of popularity.