You used that term twice in your post, obviously you prefer professional politicians. That's a powerful stink. Are you suggesting that Biden is better qualified, or Pelosi, or Kennedy because they are the professionals you want instead of Sarah Palin?
I don’t necessarily prefer professional politicians, but general professionals who have the skills, experience, and knowledge to function at the national and international level. President Bush made the cut, even though only a small part of his adult life has been spent as a “professional politician”. Dick Cheney was certainly VERY professional, displaying senior level professionalism in both public and private sector positions. Same with Mitt Romney — absolutely at home at very senior levels in both the public and private sectors (I wasn’t thrilled about his socialist health care stuff in Massachusetts, but he was serving his constituents the way they wanted to be served). Condi Rice is another. And so are many people, both Republicans and Democrats, who really are strictly career politicians (e.g. McCain, who is wisely steering completely clear of Sarah’s post-election whine-fest). These people don’t make idiotic blunders on the national/international stage and let themselves get sidetracked by their own hurt feelings. They have a constant awareness of, and accurate read on, the big picture and how what they do and say will be perceived by various other parties. Palin simply doesn’t, and what bodes poorly for her prospects of ever ascending to that level, is that she seems completely oblivious to her shortcomings.
As for Biden/Pelosi/Kennedy, I disagree with their politics, but they are most certainly better qualified to represent the positions they advocate (which is presumably what the people who voted for them want them to do), than Sarah Palin. They know how to get things done, to forge the necessary alliances, even with people who disagree with them and have “been mean” to them in the past. Presumably they weren’t born with senior-level skills and experience, but they HAVE acquired them. Sarah is in kindergarten compared to any of those three.