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I think there are other examples too. We criticize the left for their “poll tested viewpoints”. I could see Sarah relying on such mechanisms when governing. A key differentiator of conservatism is that it is a value-based movement. You agree up front on a set of values and you apply that lens to every challenge. Contrast with the left where every situation needs to be individually analyzed and the answer more often than not is “it depends” - then you don’t really know what you’re going to get in the way of decisions. Ceding sovereignty, bridges to nowhere, quitting the job, etc...these are some questionable decisions. Gov Christie in New Jersey seems to have the “lens” right. He is applying those standards to everything he runs across and acting accordingly without having to spend a lot of time doing analysis. When you’re not in lock step with the values and can apply them to any situation in a hurry to make the right decision...you’re as dangerous as the left. I can’t support that.

"I think there are other examples too."

I agree, but that is the biggest one in my mind and is a dis-qualifier all by itself. Even McCain backed off his previous support for L.O.S.T. during the campaign. She never has as far as I can tell. In fact, she has stood strong on that support when asked even after the campaign:

In May of 2009, she appeared on a radio call-in show in Fairbanks and took a call on this question. From the Michael Dukes Show -- KFAR 660 AM, Fairbanks, Alaska on 5/28/2009 (prior to her resignation):

Caller: Hello Michael Dukes: Yes
,br> Caller: Yeah, Governor, we're sure glad to have you here and we love ya. Are you aware that the, uh, unelected international bureaucrats, internationalist bureaucrats, from the State Department, Department of State, are currently secretly conspiring with representatives of the Russian government to give away certain strategically and economically important islands of Alaska? There's eight of 'em, I won't name 'em but they potentially hold tons of valuable minerals and the sea...the 200 area around 'em is vital to our production fot oil. Are you aware of that and if so, what have you done about it?

Governor Palin: Here is what I am aware of: The Russian government did flag undersea land as their own. They're staking claim to what potentially could be the greatest oil and gas reserves on the globe. The United States of America is kind of missing the boat on this because we haven't signed on to the Law Of The Sea Treaty yet and there's been a lot of conservatives, people like-minded in my own party who have said, "Nope, we don't want to give more power to the U.N. so we cannot sign on to this treaty" but I believe that we have to. Lisa Murkowski also believes that we must do this at this time so that we can start staking claim to what is rightfully the Arctic land of Alaska which belongs to the United States of America. If we don't, Russia and other countries are going to exert more and more power, authority, rights to undersea lands that are so rich in resources and they're going to start taking over. So that's something that we're doing about it, is working with our delegation in support of the Law Of The Sea Treaty and having to do some educating there in conservative circles as to why it is no, we don't want to continue to give more power to the U.N., certainly not, but we have got to be a player in this. Otherwise, we're going to be left out in the cold.