Both are large and complicated states. Alaska even has certain challenges that California does not.
Palin resigned when it became clear that because of the peculiarities of Alaska law, that she could not govern the state and defend against the frivilous lawsuits simultaneously. The Presidency has buffers against said frivilous lawsuits.
Governing Alaska does have some challenges California does not, but they are nothing like governing a state with more than 50 times the population and an economy more than 40 times as large.
Reagan had to face a serious recall attempt less than two years into his governorship, when his approval ratings were at 30%. He survived it to serve another term and face two more recall attempts.
The Presidency offers some buffers against frivolous law suits, but I’d say that’s outweighed by a host of other distractions no governor needs to face. Palin’s inability to both govern and defend against frivolous ethics complaints does not give me a great deal of confidence in her ability to manage the far more overwhelming demands of the Presidency.
Also, those “peculiarities of Alaska law” are, as the author of this article points out, the direct result of the ethics reform package Palin herself pushed through state legislature and one she and her supporters still point to as a great success of her governorship. That she unable or unwilling to endure the consequences of her own reforms also does not look like the stuff of a President.
Defending Palin from the disgusting personal smears against her and her family is something I wholeheartedly support. Comparing her to Reagan or inflating her experience to paper over legitimate concerns over her qualification to be President is not.