I really find this summary from Today's Papers (Slate) hard to believe. Shows how out of touch I am with the real world.
[The USA Today] lead story is about how Sarah Palin's resignation actually "boosted her a bit among Republicans." A poll taken this week shows that Palin has become even more polarizing after her resignation as the vast majority of Republicans want her to become a national figure, and Democrats overwhelmingly want her to just go away. Fifty-five percent of independents agree with Democrats. Almost three-fourths of Republicans say they'd be likely to vote for Palin for president in 2012, while 51 percent of independents say they wouldn't. [emphasis added]
This is the social conservative wing of the Republican party, the wing that wants more gubmnt intervention in our lives. It is not the small-gubmnt libertarian wing which played such an important role in helping the US economy grow in the 1980s.
My prediction (possibly wishful thinking?) is that by 2011, Sarah Palin will have faded from the scene and will have zero real influence in the Republican party.