Who knows if he would have done better with Lieberman. It's just speculation. If he supposedly wanted to shore up the conservative base, he could have picked Fred Thompson, Romney, or any of the other goons who fashioned themselves to be rightwingers.
He picked Palin to create a media buzz, to get Obama off the front pages after his convention, and to try to steal some hillary voters. I don't think there's really any legitimate debate about that.
The point is, I don't think you put the nation at risk, just to win an election. I mean this shit about her is just freaking scary. It boggles the mind to think this lady would have been a heart beat from the oval office.
Had he chosen Lieberman he would have lost the far right who would have stayed home or found a canidate.