Stacy, you couldnt' be more right about Palin becoming the frontrunner in 2012, as I noted back in early September:
But more importantly, it could restore to the GOP the principled and inspired conservatism that has been absent from the two top spots since Ronald Reagan left office in 1989. Recall the last 20 years and sigh: Bush/Quayle, Dole/Kemp, and Bush/Cheney. President George H.W. Bush squandered his inheritance and was never in the Reagan mold. Sen. Robert Dole was the "it's his turn" establishment candidate that did not enthuse. And our current president was not the conservative that his early anointers pretended he was.
So the McCain/Palin ticket -- dead even with Obama/Biden, who enjoyed no Democratic convention bump -- holds the most promise in years for delivering the Right from the wilderness. It may not pay immediate dividends in a McCain presidency, but Palin could represent the beginning of a conservative restoration for a long time.