That doesn't always work as we saw with Sarah. She stood up to the press and they're STILL out to get her.
But I think Palin still has the respect of the people because she has fought back. The problem with Bush and his whipped dog stance was that, while it didn’t stop the media attacks, it caused the people to lose respect for him and thus reduced his support even more.
And the fact that he has now retreated into silence and is letting Obama essentially take over two months in advance is awful, both foolish and, IMHO, a betrayal of the people who elected him (Bush).