“Had it not been for John McCain’s desire for a vivacious running mate, Sarah Palin would in all likelihood still be puttering along in Alaska, not even thinking about national politics. This might not be how you or I might write a story, but when God is writing the story we can expect man’s rules to be broken.”
No, but she wouldn’t need to be his running mate. She would’ve been able to run for the top slot on her own terms without any baggage.
What would have opened her up to national visibility? Without the resources that McCain, the candidate, was able to command getting her engaged with the lower 48 (it’s a PAIN to commute down there from Alaska on your own dime) the power would have been all in the direction of keeping her up there in Alaska, fighting for the interests of Alaskans, which is perfectly fine, but there would be nothing more to it.