So it ranks with, it's Bush's fault?
Palin could've been a masterstroke by McCain, if she wasn't herself. Younger, female, charismatic (she was a rock star at the convention).
Any argument about her inexperience and possible out of center could've been used to point at the top of the Dem ticket. I'd say either McCain didn't do his homework, or there simply wasn't enough data, in which case he took a calculated risk and lost.
Pete