[Arguendo]

Agreed. A strong personality and conservative ideology are important, but we also need someone with competence and the ability to articulate the ideology (and at times the intellectual basis for it) to a variety of audiences, and Palin has shown little evidence of either.

I'm not saying she doesn't have some promise, but at the moment she's far from perfect even many conservatives are worried about whether she's ready for the position. The Republican party has done little to show it's capable of effectively running the country over the past eight years and Palin doesn't help change that image.

[ansel12]

“I’ve also posted here for several years (I think I started in late 2001) but have decided to switch usernames a few times, which unfortunately requires a new account.”

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Doing that sure doesn’t help your credibility.

[Fiji Hill]

The Republican party has done little to show it's capable of effectively running the country over the past eight years...

I would argue that the administration in power over the past eight years did a better job running the country than did its predecessor.