But education does matter, I think. No matter what you think of how Obama got into Harvard, its a fact that he was very successful there. That's a lot more than a Yale legacy like Bush can say. And it's mountains more than Sarah Palin can say.

Obviously there will be exceptions, but I would say that past peformance is oftentimes a good indicator of future success. This might be especially important where many expected Bush to be able to grow into his job, and that really didn't happen.

For these reasons, I'm a lot more wary of Palin than I am Obama. I've no doubt that a lot of people see Palin as "one of us." Frankly, I'm tired of the idea of a sympathetic commoner as President (or VP). I'd like a high achiever, someone who's better than all the rest. Doesn't the job merit that?

Dale made a good point earlier, though. The more people perceive that folks are piling on Palin, the more relexively defensive of her they become. In this way, the supposedly liberal media is in fact doing harm to the Obama campaign and to any serious dicourse.

I still think she'll be woefully exposed at the debates, but I guess we'll see when that time comes. It will also be very interesting to see how succcessful Obama is at appealing to the center during the debates. That will be very important for his chances.