Far from exceeding expectations, Palin merely fulfilled the self-styled portrait of 'hockey-mom', conservative Christian that the Republicans have been painting over the last few weeks. Throughout the debate, she presented herself as an outsider to the whims of Washington politics, feigning ignorance of the ways that career-politicians chop-and-change their minds on key matters like the recent economic bailout. She might have convinced some that she's a down-to-earth mother with a strong set of values, but this debate and the calamitous series of interviews leading up to it exposed her inexperience and lack of qualification for the number-two role in US politics, with a 40% probability of her taking over as president in the next 4 years.