Dan Quayle was a lawyer. He wasn't a stupid man by any means.
He couldn't spell potato.... maybe that comes from always having a secretary write everything for him, maybe he didn't like to read. But a lawyer who becomes veep, among other political offices... he wasn't stupid, he just wasn't super-bright.
And he was in office for decades and this potato thing is #1 we all mention.... I mean, Palin was in public spotlight for a WEEK and we already had 20 embarrassing quotes from interviews. Give her 20 years IN elected office and see what kinda list we have.
Palin's not stupid... she's probably average... 100 to 110 IQ... Her problem is more likely the self-important, lack of self-doubt thing that most of us have. If a sentence has lasted for 20 seconds, most of us will STOP it and begin another. Palin, maybe due to the pressure or whatever... she just kept going.
And the venom... she's NOT a positive person, not a positive leader. And if you cannot make people feel better, then you REALLY better know your shit when it comes to the issues, ya know? Clinton was a shitbird, but he did make people feel better. Reagan made people feel good. Dubya did it early on, too. People really liked them.
Palin is just petty, angry.... fun for message boards, but not what you want in a leader. Imagine her making fun of Angela Merkel's pants? lol... She's a great pundit though, and as long as she never runs for office, I'm happy for her, I have no beef with her. She is bad for the GOP though... they agree too.