You are dead wrong. Even McCain admitted that palin kept the Republican losses from being far far worse. It would have been DOUBLE digit margins vs what we had.
Palin was a HUGE asset in terms of money and in terms of turnout. The drag on the ticket was McCain and his beltway minion staffers.
Everything you say matches what I said. So are you right or wrong? We both say Sarah helped preserve the base. We both say that that was necessary because of McCain. In short, we agree. The problem is that all Sarah was able to do was help McCain break even with the base. That’s why I say she was a push, at best.