I don’t think Sarah Palin is any dumber that most politicians; and her biggest problem was that she was put on the national stage without having the opportunity to be properly prepared. What I mean by that is most politicians spend years increasing their profile to put them into the position to be able to effectively run a national political campaign; and the countless interviews (and rallies for other people) give them the experience they need to look polished regardless of what is happening.
As an example of what I mean, it is very clear that Barack Obama was preparing to make a run for the presidency in 2003/2004 and had 3 to 4 years to prepare before he announced his candidacy; and even then, the primaries tend to start off pretty slow allowing someone to get up to speed before they’re really in trouble.
With that said, I don’t think Sarah Palin is actually going to try for the presidency in 2012; and I don’t think she would accept to be someone else’s running mate either. What I expect from her is to increase her profile and to become a "King Maker" by being the person who rallies the troops and helps fundraising. She is just too much of a polarizing individual to really be effective in a presidential campaign anymore because she will alienate more independents than she can attract.
