I don't think so. If that were the case, there wouldn't have been all these weeks of competition.
Jennifer Gray began as the best dancer, by far, than any of them. If they were looking for the best dancer, they could have had one episode and been done with it.
Gray is not an amateur dancer; Palin is.
No, this is a ratings drive first and foremost, and a popularity contest secondly.
:-)
DWTS did the same thing last season with singer Nicole from 'The Pussycat Dolls' group. It's unfair for a person who never had a dance lesson to go up against someone who has been paid to dance.