The most ridiculous thing about Sarah Palin’s ongoing quest for national office is that she has a really pathetic ability to answer basic questions. Bill O’Reilly wants to know if she thinks she’s qualified to be president:

I believe that I am because I have common sense, and I have, I believe, the values that are reflective of so many other American values. And I believe that what Americans are seeking is not the elitism, the kind of a spinelessness that perhaps is made up for that with some kind of elite Ivy League education and a fact resume that’s based on anything but hard work and private sector, free enterprise principles. Americans could be seeking something like that in positive change in their leadership. I’m not saying that has to be me.

That’s awful!

How about: I know I don’t have as much experience in office as a lot of other politicians, but this country has never had a tradition of electing long-time Washington hands and I think that in America the strength of ideas matters more than your longevity. Of course that would require her to develop some ideas, but that’s a different problem.

For the record, though, I think we should take the probability of her becoming president at least somewhat seriously. She probably won’t win the GOP nomination (the odds of any particular individual winning are < 0.5) and my guess is that by 2012 the economy will be growing nicely and Obama will be re-elected no matter what. But if she does get the nomination and the economic fundamentals aren’t good then I don’t think anyone should count on her absurd persona bailing the Democrats out. Incumbents win when the economy is improving. When it’s not, they lose.