Believe me, I understand your frustration. The GOP is rife with wishy-washy careerists who will advance just as much of the liberal cause as they think they can get away with. When they first tasted power in in Congress during the Reagan era, they were shell-shocked embarrassments after all their years under Democrat thuggery. They came in more strongly in ‘94, then fizzled again. Clearly they need to be shaken up again.
But this is what I don’t get: in Palin we’ve got someone with a demonstrated willingness to effect reform within her own party. Someone who speaks more effectively for conservatism than anyone we’ve had since Reagan, and someone who has galvinized the base like few other. Yet, she’s clearly a political natural (I’d say genius) who is doing a masterful job of maintaining and building her political viability without selling out. She’s someone who is actually likely to get the nomination and win in 2012, rather than excite the purists who comprise 1% of the electorate.
What more do you or could you want in a political leader? No, she’s not perfect—but no human being is.