Just in case this comes up again in 2012, it should be understood that Sarah Palin is nothing like Theodore Roosevelt. His childhood in New York City, combined with a year-long Grand Tour of Europe at age 10, a trip down the Nile at age 14, and several months spent in Germany following the trip to Egypt, gave him a very broad view of the world.
He graduated magna cum laude from Harvard and attended Columbia Law School. Within two years of his Harvard graduation he became the youngest man ever elected to the New York State Assembly (New York State had a population of over 5 million at that time compared with Alaska’s current population of well under 1 million) and published his first book, The Naval War of 1812. That would be the first of more than 35 books that he wrote during his lifetime.
Before being chosen as the vice-presidential nominee he had also been a very active President of the Board of Police Commissioners in New York City (Google “midnight rambles”), held two Federal level positions as U.S. Civil Service Commissioner and Assistant Secretary of the Navy, fought in a war and been Governor of New York State. His political career between his first term as an Assemblyman and his election as the Vice-President, spanned twenty years.
Theodore Roosevelt had a fine mind, enjoyed poetry as much as hunting, was a voracious reader and was open to new ideas (even those that imposed a financial burden on business owners). He also got along well with people from all walks of life, including elitist city folk like himself.
Sarah Palin has a lot of catching up to do.
Teddy Roosevelt had much more experience, as you say. He was also very liberal, and he was John McCain’s role model in many ways.