Palin at least showed that she had the stuff to be a viable #2. That is something.
The real problem for the GOP isn't Palin, it's McCain, who has shown himself unable to really be a maverick by NOT being "bi-partisan" when the right thing is to oppose the bail-out and everything it contains and implies. McCain fancies himself a high-minded team player and, unfortunately, the "team" that runs Washington D.C. is a gang of bandits, idlers, and fools.