Regardless of my feelings about her qualifications, I cannot see any path by which she could be elected President. While her supporters absolutely love her, as the poll points out, a great many people absolutely loathe her.

Still, by being VP (as she nearly was), she could become President without being elected. Could she govern effectively? Well, at this point, I'm not certain that ANYBODY can govern "effectively". The past two Presidents have both been the subject of intense, virulent bitterness, and the President before that was literally impeached. (A procedure which could not possibly have removed him from office, and which existed only to embarrass and harass him.)

Given her expressed distaste for the considerable number of Americans who consider themselves left-of-center (and even many who think of themselves as centrist), regardless of her intelligence or the soundness of her ideas, she'd be a very divisive President. It would be essentially impossible for her to interact well with that part of Congress, which even in the minority would be able to obstruct any agenda she may have. (Much as we are seeing right now.)

She may well be able to let the executive branch function as it always has. The real purpose of the President is not to advance a legislative agenda but to mind the store of the branches of government which execute the laws. Those branches go on largely on their own; their top leadership has usually seen four or more Presidents come and go. This is arguably a problem, since it makes an entrenched position that's immune to reform, but it also means that function is maintained regardless of who holds the top job. (Usually.)

Palin may well be worse at that than most; I've tried to be neutral thus far but her many actions have led me to concur with the 4/5th of the country who believe she would be incompetent. (And given that past surveys have found a consistent 20% or so who reliably take up the most extreme right-wing position offered to them on any poll, that 4 out of 5 is effectively "everybody else".) From giving up the governor's job to her poor grasp of issues whenever confronted live by a reporter or in a debate, I think she'd be an awful President.

But at this point, I think it may not matter much. The country is too bound in partisan fighting, and too subject to the buffeting winds of international economics and foreign actions, to really significantly change its course when we change the leadership.

Sarah Palin would not be an effective President for these reasons:

1) Strongly Opposes topic 1: Abortion is a woman's right
Rejected sympathy for Down’s Syndrome son, as gift from God
Opposes embryonic stem cell research
Every baby is created with a future and potential
Praised by pro-life groups for keeping Down syndrome baby
Safe Haven bill: allow surrendering newborns without penalty
Adoption is best plan for permanency for foster care kids
Pro-life
Choose life, even if her own daughter were raped
Opposes use of public funds for abortions
Pro-contraception, pro-woman, pro-life
Only exception for abortion is if mother’s life would end

2) Favors topic 2: Require hiring more women & minorities
Recognize Juneteenth to celebrate the end of slavery
Recognize Martin Luther King holiday
Value our cultural diversity
No special hate-crime laws; all heinous crime is hate-based

3) Strongly Opposes topic 3: Same-sex domestic partnership benefits
Non-support of anything but traditional marriage
Vetoed bill denying benefits to gays, as unconstitutional
HIV/AIDS among Alaska Natives is public health crisis
Comply with same-sex partner benefits despite disagreement
Marriage only be between and man and a woman
Special legislative session on same-sex health benefits
Ok to deny benefits to homosexual couples
No spousal benefits for same-sex couples
Top priorities include preserving definition of “marriage”

4) Strongly Favors topic 4: Teacher-led prayer in public schools
Teach creationism alongside evolution in schools
Supports teaching intelligent design in public schools
Committed to providing strong education, including morals
ABC method: back to basics, plus patriotism & ethics
Let parents opt out of schoolbooks they find offensive
Pledge of Allegiance with ‘Under God’ is good enough
Opposes explicit sex-education programs
Declare a National Day of Prayer in Alaska
The Bible has profoundly influenced America
Recognize America’s historic and founding Christian heritage

5) Strongly Favors topic 8: Death Penalty
If legislature passed death penalty law, I would sign it
Death penalty for adults who murder children

6) Strongly Favors topic 9: Mandatory Three Strikes sentencing laws
Establish “FBI Day” to support fighting global crime
Register sex offenders; & investigate internet sex crimes
Victims’ rights are critical to “justice for all”
We are tough on crime and beefing up law enforcement
Collect DNA samples from felons
Maximum sentence for first-degree murder by police
Strong public safety presence, via police, courts & prisons

7) Strongly Favors topic 10: Absolute right to gun ownership
Hunts as much as she can; freezer-full of wild game
Supports ending D.C.’s 32-year-old ban on handguns
Lifelong NRA member & champion of right to bear arms
Supports Constitutional right to bear arms

8) Opposes topic 5: More federal funding for health coverage
Health care must be market-and business-driven
Take personal responsibility for personal health & all areas
Doctors should manage health care, not bureaucracies
Personal responsibility & choices key to good health
Flexibility in government regulations to allow competition
More affordable health care via competition

9) Opposes topic 6: Privatize Social Security
Fund the Seniors Longevity Bonus Program

10) Strongly Favors topic 7: Parents choose schools via vouchers
294 Alaska public schools progressed under NCLB
Supports charter schools, home schools, & other alternatives
Supports parental choice for what is best for their children
Support charters & home schools; not private school vouchers
Parents know best, about school spending & school age

11) Opposes topic 18: Replace coal & oil with alternatives
Nonsensical to leave domestic supply untapped
Produce more of our own oil & gas, for national security
Resource rebate: suspend AK 8-cent fuel tax for one year
Lift moratorium on offshore drilling
Exxon-Mobil should pay $507 million for Exxon Valdez spill
Energy relief plan: $100 per person monthly, for oil & gas
$250M for proven alternative energy, including wind & hydro
Fund cellulosic biofuel research in Farm Bill
Convince the rest of the nation to open ANWR
Goal of 50% of Alaska electric power from renewable sources
Commercialize Alaska’s North Slope natural gas
Agrees with Obama on more Alaska oil & gas production
Unlock ANWR; we’re ready, willing and able to contribute
Bush is right: drill ANWR & develop our own supplies
Stranded Gas Development Act no longer applies
Get ANWR open
I do support capping carbon emissions
Global warming affects Alaska, but is not man-made

12) Favors topic 19: Drug use is immoral: enforce laws against it
Rejected making Wasilla bars close earlier than 5 AM
Highway fatalities down because of strict drunk driving laws
Maintain alcohol sale database; bar giving alcohol to minors
Opposes legalizing marijuana, but meth is greater threat
Smoked marijuana when it was legal under Alaska law
Top priorities include gangs & drugs; they harm family life

13) Favors topic 20: Allow churches to provide welfare services
No state-mandated religion, but public faith is ok
Recognize Salvation Army and encourage charity to them
Faith-based materials ok in homeschooling

14) Opposes topic 11: Make taxes more progressive
Raising taxes hurts small business and hurts jobs
Elected mayor based on tax cut promise
As mayor, cut property taxes & increased sales tax
Windfall oil profits tax prevents investment
$60M annually for municipal revenue sharing
Eliminate taxes that inhibit business
Repeal “nuisance taxes” including the tire tax
Encourage small business growth by reducing business taxes
No income tax; no taking the people’s dividends
Would support a seasonal sales tax, but no income tax

15) Favors topic 12: Illegal immigrants earn citizenship
Supports a path to citizenship, but no amnesty for illegals
Has not often expressed views on illegal immigration
OpEd: Palin is sick to death of this immigration nonsense
Address jointly with Canada the border security challenges
Immigrants want more vocational training & senior assistance
Took no action on Alaska’s “sanctuary cities”
Tightened restrictions on illegal alien’s drivers licenses:

16) Favors topic 13: Support & expand free trade
Trade important to Alaska, but keep Alaska residents first
Allow wineries to ship by mail within state
International markets and companies trust Alaska
Record-high exports; growth of 12.6% since last year
Firm believer in free market capitalism

17) Strongly Favors topic 15: Expand the armed forces
Strong military and sound energy
Ask all candidates “Are you doing all you can for security?”
Obligation to support our troops, even if criticizing war
Promote from within, in Alaska’s National Guard
Let military personnel know how much we support them

18) Strongly Favors topic 16: Stricter limits on political campaign funds
McCain: She’s a soul-mate who implemented ethics reform
VECO scandal & Stevens indictment shows need for GOP cleanup
Comprehensive ethics reform: change politics as usual
Presented comprehensive ethics bill in early 2007
Unions should get member permission for political donations

19) Opposes topic 14: The Patriot Act harms civil liberties
Focus on fighting Al-Qaeda terrorists, not on reading rights
Gang members on probation must wear electronic monitors
Proclaim “Loyalty Day” to reaffirm loyalty to America

20) Strongly Opposes topic 17: US out of Iraq
No white flag of surrender on Iraq
Retreat is defeat in Iraq
McCain: She has right judgment on Iran and the surge
Visited Alaska National Guard troops in Kuwait
Generally supportive of America’s presence in Iraq
We don’t know what the plan is to ever end the war
Armed forces, including my son, give us security and freedom
Wants exit plan; also assurances to keep our troops safe:
We have not been attacked since 2001; so support our troops
I support the mission of our troops in Iraq
Our troops in Iraq keep us safe at home
I support President Bush’s efforts to stop terrorism

No, and she destroyed McCain as well. I personally am a Democrat, but since I had not chosen which future president I wanted to go with I was only to happy to check out both sides. To me it is about the lesser of two evils and who is best qualified to run. McCain was certainly not my first choice but he was in the running. I was angry because I felt the only reason he chose her is because he though Obama was going to choose Hilary Clinton as his running mate. I think he thought that if Obama chose Hilary, he would be a powerhouse, he would have the minority vote and the vote of the women, so I think he though he stood a better chance if he could split the votes of women. The way he thought he could do it was to find a Republican woman, being that there is not all that many, he chose Palin, combined with the fact that she was pretty, and people love beautiful people, he probably thought he was a shoe in.

However, certainly not the case, she was unprepared, undereducated in what it takes to run the country, and more concerned over what she wore than the running of this country. She would not have made even a competent vice president, she definitely would not make a good president.

Ba ha ha ha... ha ha ha HAAHHHHAAA ha...
hahaha hehe

Sorry, I don't mean to laugh at your question, budda. I am laughing at the concept.

My answer: No. No. No.

Lets forget that first interview with Katie Couric that I couldn't find, where she botched questions left and right and wasn't coherent at all. Let's forget that she couldn't remember ONE newspaper to lie about reading when she was asked what newspaper she read...lets forget...wait I think you get the picture.

To be an effective anything, one must complete their tasks and weather the storm, regardless of how troublesome it may be. She couldn't finish her term of Govenor, for what ever reason it may be. How reliable can she be in a higher office, if she couldn't even complete her term? All that aside, 22% of the population (which is still WAAAY to high) support her. 78% of the population, don't. Where is she going to get if only 22% of the population like her, or support her?

She was a mayor of only 5500, and a govenor of under 700,000 people. These are the only two public offices she's had. She is not qualified, because she doesn't know about anything outside of Alaska. She only knows about being a Maverick, and I don't want a Maverick for President. I want someone calm, cool headed, and smart.

In the words of one of the great writers of our time.....

Not on a boat,
Not with a goat
Not in the rain
Not on a train
Not in the dark
Not in a tree
Not in a box
Not with a fox
Not in a house
Not with a mouse
Not here
Not there
Not anywhere........

-pauses and glares for a very long time-

I'm sorry, what did you ask? All I could hear was a ringing in my ears followed by the sound of an arriving Apocalypse to a world not unlike our own. A world only 2-3% dumber than this one...

Let me give her appropriate attention: this is the clever respond of another idiot about Sarah Palin. Sorry, I can sully my hands with addressing this one... there's just too much to say. Matt Damon, take it awey...

So, without being deliberately contrarian, I'll gladly be the first to say YES. The president is not a king, so the power of this position should be very limited to begin with. The white house shouldn't be run by a group of technocrats, that actually doesn't have a good effect on the economy. Most of the things said about this woman are non-sense (vanity fare article as an example).
Abortion: She is pro-life. Because if your on the right, abortion is the right of the child, not the women. So, it doesn't make any difference if the child is created by a rape or act of incest, because its not about the sex act the woman had.
Its amazing how the conservation always hits upon gay marriage. Our country is bankrupt due to large entitlements and overspending, and islamic fanatics occasionally kill some of us, but we can't get beyond gay marriage in the debate.
Free Market capitalism is the greatest economic system ever invented by man, and has done more to lift people out of poverty then government intervention, so anyone who will role that back is fine by me.
Finally, I'm a proud atheist who doesn't fear that this women will force creationism to be taught in public schools. Number one, because in a ideas battle between creationism and evolution, evolution will always win. Number two, I hope she defunds and attempts to privatize public schools as much as possible, because no matter who is in charge or how much money it gets public schools will never work.

I think anyone could be an effective President of the United States. If a person is President, absent some highly unusual circumstances, they were elected to popular office, and have a fair amount of voter support. That is sufficient for legislators to at least give her a chance. I have no reason to believe that a Palin administration would be significantly different from any other administration over the past 20 years. The majority of government employees are not changed out when a new executive is elected, and those people provide enough inertia to prevent really massive overhauls in government policy, even if the President herself would be interested. She would still have to work with the millions of government employees and thousands of high level bureaucrats on a day-to-day basis. Alienating that many people would mean that the few, limited changes a President actually could push through would be thwarted.

Would Sarah Palin be an effective President of the United States?
No. The USA Presidency needs to maintain a dignified, Head of State status. Sarah Palin brings energy and a down-to-earth-grass-roots essence, but there has been too much faux pas publicity and parady (Saturday Night Live where most Americans couldn't tell it wasn't really Sarah Palin) for her to overcome to really be perceived as having the appropriate amount of dignity that being President of the United States commands.

I think being President requires a tremendous amount of finess. I think Sarah Palin is an excellent strategist and promoter, attributes that are necessary to a successful Presidency, but I think the lack of subtle finess would undermine much of what she would try to accomplish. (Maybe finess is the wrong word, but hopefully you can envision that certain quality that a President has whereby the subtlest movement conveys an entire command.)

If anything, I think she may be the most qualified in these particular times. Not because she has a lot of political experience or great wisdom, but because she is grass-roots. Sometimes that's the most important qualification.