Palin was a politically expedient choice. McCain knew he'd flamed his base and needed to fix it. He wanted a woman or some such as that is an important and BIG demographic pickup.
She is a so-con, pro-gun, correct on the environment and such, but as her record in Wassila and the State showed she is not a careful spender. She raised city debt massively for public entertainment assets that could easily have been private were they such a good deal. She imposed a byzantine State tax system on oil producers that had drillers leaving the State. She has endorsed a number of RINOs over solid conservative candidates. So IMO, Palin is nowhere near as conservative as is claimed by her star-struck fans but better than many. I would trust her to be on America's side, but I don't trust her geopolitical, historical, regulatory, military, or economic knowledge, nor did she take the time to bone up on all that, choosing instead to cash in on star power, and has she ever done that. On the plus side I have yet to find indication that she is dishonest, which says a lot.
What are you talking about? Palin decreased the size of her state budget over the years she was in office. Tell me about another modern governor who has accomplished that.