I agree on all counts.
He apparently didn't get a lot of experience dealing with disagreement and criticism while in Chicago. He isn't handling it well and isn't showing very good leadership. You can tell he isn't used to dealing with disagreement with his 15 minute response to the lady asking about taxes. Someone like Bill Clinton would have done a whole lot better.
As far as his advisers, many people think Bush was or is an idiot, but he was at least smart enough to bring people with more experience than he had. I remember people actually criticizing him for it back then. Personally, I felt that showed some smarts.
In general, most VP candidates on losing tickets are irrelevant. No one cares. IMO, the Democrats constant attempts to attack and destroy Palin only enhances her media presence and puts her in the spot light.