After everything the left has thrown at Palin in the last five years, she's barely got a scratch on her, but to hear some conservatives tell it, she's finished. Many of them say the same thing about the country, the Tea Party, and the patriotic right.
I agree with you in the sense that Sarah has shown she is made out of "The Right Stuff". She has shaken off every punch and low blow the left (and the RINOs) have thrown at and become stronger for it.
But there is no denying that the media and leftists have been successful in pretty much destroying her viability as a candidate by creating a perception among the general population that she is a flake and not to be taken seriously. It is based on lies, falsehoods and half truths but it has been effective and has taken root as the perceived truth.
I would wager that other than informed conservatives, most people with an opinion as to who said "I can see Russia From My House" would say it was Sarah, not Tina Fey.
One indicator of the effectiveness of Tina Fey's parody, which was a blatant ridicule of Sarah, is the fact that Tina won an Emmy in the category of Outstanding Guest Actress in a Comedy Series for her impersonation of Sarah on SNL.
The leftist media loved her for it and rewarded her for the damage she did to Sarah's credibility with the general public.
Those who've bought into the manufactured negative image of Palin, were never on her side to begin with. She never lost them, because she never had them to begin with.
What's more troubling to me, are the otherwise sensible conservatives, who've bought into the secondary leftist meme that, 'she's been ruined by the unfair press, and is therefore unelectable'.
The manufactured image of her, and the 'unelectable' meme, are both false, and have both been advanced by the left (and the GOP-e) to keep her out of the running for the White House.
The day after Mitt Romney lost the election to Obama, a national poll came out which asked, "Now that Mitt Romney has lost the election, who do you feel is the leader of the Republican party?"
Sarah Palin was the top choice by a wide margin.
That poll could not have generated that result if her brand has really been destroyed by the negative mud slinging. No, Palin remains just as strong and just as viable as she ever was.