by Eric Neyer

Created on: November 07, 2008   Last Updated: June 11, 2009

Sarah Palin, wherefore art thou in three years? Launching a populist, take-no-prisoners presidential campaign as the "D.C. outsider" of the conservative base? Or helpin' to implement change-the motor oil in the snow machines, that is-after staggering to the finish of your single term as Alaska's governor?

If I had a vote, it would be for the latter option. Because, no matter your political affiliation, the majority of Americans must agree to agree on this: Intelligence and international awareness MUST be considered as minimum qualifications for national office holders. Sarah, you're obviously not a pig, but you may very well be George Bush in lipstick. It's pretty clear how the American people now feel about his eight-year intellectual vacation. Are the Republican faithful eager to re-run that experiment again so soon?

On the other hand, let's imagine that the country makes some kind of economic recovery with Barack Obama at the helm. Recent history suggests that he'll be rewarded with a second term, barring a complete policy train wreck. Even if the mantra carried him to a landslide, in reality people will do almost anything to avoid "change."

In that scenario, Palin's next shot at the White House would be 2016. Given the venom that was projected toward Mrs. Palin from the few pro-intellectual conservative pundits during the height of this year's campaign, there must be a substantial seething, yet loyally silent, faction of Republicans that see her as a divisive element in the party.

She publicly stated her regret if she cost McCain even a single vote, but a better guess would be several million. She may have comforted some of the extremists in the party, but they weren't going to vote for Obama no matter what. However, many centrists (who, by the way, make up the majority of the American voting population) must have fled from the McCain ticket after the continual displays of provincial ignorance and know-nothing arrogance that Palin paraded on national television. And Canadian radio. And during abuse of power investigations in her home state.

And in the end, Sarah Palin displayed the trait that has proved one of the most harmful of the Bush administration and its ilk: lack of accountability. It's one of the trademarks of demagogues, this inability to acknowledge fault and, perhaps, to apologize. In her and her cronies' eyes, she never mis-stepped or misspoke, never went too far in questioning her foe's (and his supporters') patriotism and motives.

If all the campaign foibles (Saksgate, etc.) truly were engineered by operatives outside the Palin campaign, as her people have claimed, then we should question why the future leader of our country behaved so pliantly. Can you imagine Joe Biden allowing this degree of mismanagement to occur within his campaign, or blaming campaign spending issues on his handlers? Never. We demand self-confidence, approachability, and understanding from our leaders, all of which Palin's supporters give her credit for. But, we must also demand accountability, restraint, and wisdom, and with Sarah Palin, there really is no there there.

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