but a fair few of them cetainly do put the more recent ones to shame.
I never thought I'd miss Bill Clinton or Gerald Ford.
Palin is a newcomer to the national scene, as well as a newcomer to politics in general. As such, she hasn't worked her way through the party system, hasn't done the requisite work to raise money for other candidates, and in general hasn't become a member of "the club."
If the Republicans start letting people run for president who aren't members of "the club," then who knows what sort of conservative we might get?
The Democrats go after her for several reasons, one being that she's like Miss California: an attractive woman with conservative views. Can't have that. Another other reason is that Palin has reached this point without having to be a feminist and play the victim. Of course, she's also a threat because, with the right coaching, she could win. An assertive, attractive, conservative woman in the White House would send all the wrong signals, just like Condi Rice and Clarence Thomas (no, I didn't mean that Clarence Thomas was an attractive woman
).
El Tejon, is there something in the news today giving the reasons why Palin stepped down, or are you making assumptions?