Even during the campaign some anonymous McCain 'staffers' were discrediting Palin. She was called a 'diva'; and who leaked the info about the wardrobe the RNC had supplied? If she had refused to wear those clothes, they would have called her a 'diva' for the refusal!
But it's not working. In a poll this month iirc, she was still the choice of all GOP for 2012 (though narrowly, a 3-way split) -- and 10 points ahead with GOP women.
I know some Hillary supporters had a bad reaction to Palin's manner, conservatism, etc and of course they are the ones who got the publcity. But a poll showed that about an equal number of Hillary supporters liked her, so it balanced out.
I'd like more detail, but I get the impression that Palin is very ... WISE ... about deciding what to focus on, and managing her career by getting real things done for the real voters in Alaska. Obviously she has wonk brilliance with numbers and high-powered negotation (gas companies, pipeline). But sfaik her strategy with building on real accomplishments shows a good balance of judgment. (See USA Today's "Palin governed from the center.")
And when in doubt, she focuses on practical and ethical. Instead of fighting for a bill that would have denied state employees' same-sex partners benefits, she vetoed it, saying that it was unconstitutional and not many partners were applying anyway, so it was cheaper to pay the benefits!
Same with her appointment of Judge Christen. Instead of going with ideology, she chose the candidate clearly most qualified.
