Well simply thrusting somebody out there worked for the dems and barry 
barry knew 10 years ago that he'd be running for president in 2008.
He worked 7 years in state senate, 7 years as a constitutional professor, and a term in the US senate focused on foreign relations...
Ten years ago, Palin was running PTA meetings.
So your assessment is incorerct. obama was running for the last decade. palin decided 18 months ago to toss her name in.