Her ability to “draw a crowd” was clear over a year ago. What has happened since that time is more significant, even though the media and Palin-haters will do anything to diminish it’s importance.
She has become the most likely focal point for the unprecedented wave of anti-government populism that is sweeping the nation. Whether you agree with her on every point is immaterial - many people did not agree with every thing Barack Obama said either, but they identified with him as the focal point of their frustration with Bush, and desire for change. The pendulum will have swung far to the right by 2012, as global forces will keep the economy as the central issue. Obama is proving that he is totally ineffective in addressing this overarching problem, and Sarah Palin’s common-sense conservativism will be just what voters will be hungry for.
Palin is the only person able to bring the landslide win. And to really change Dc you need a landslide win. Mitt, TPAw etc will at most get a win with no mandate.