Dixie,
Palin has some incredible innate political skills; she is, as the saying goes, truly a natural. However, she desperately needs to augment her skills with substance and a demonstrable command of critical policy areas.
She connects with the people and can easily relate to them and their lives. I often hear people say she reminds them of someone from their church or the PTA. That's great and it's an incredible political asset. However, I personally don't know of anyone in my local churches or at the PTA I'd trust with the presidency of the United States.
Before I'm labeled a Palin-basher, let me be clear that I've been an ardent supporter of her. I've written glowingly about her skills and sincerity and how she electrified a Conservative base that was essentially out of the game till she was added to the McCain team.
That being said, though, I wholeheartedly believe she needs to do serious work to master issues such as national security, geopolitics, diplomacy and fiscal/budgetary policy. I likewise believe, that given the time and effort, she can do it.
Moreover, if she does, she will become a truly imposing political juggernaut in her own right. Democrats and Liberals loath her now for her candor, integrity and genuineness. If she takes the time to augment that with a strong intellectual foundation and a depth of policy knowledge, they will not only loathe her, they will truly fear her.
