And there's a third flaw.
Republicans prize another old-fashioned virtue: steadiness. The GOP likes to think of itself as the party of solidity, orderliness and competence. Republicans often win governor's seats in otherwise Democratic states simply by promising to run the government better than liberals can.
That's where Palin's abrupt career change last week will hurt her in the long run: It has confirmed Republicans' sense that she's not merely a "maverick" -- an attribute the party never prized much anyway -- but a flake.
"She seemed more like a spoiled celebrity than a serious public official," former Bush aide Michael Gerson said on PBS. "She's now becoming more of a kook than a serious candidate," former Reagan campaign manager Ed Rollins said on CNN.
Unfair as it may be, Palin faces an added burden as a woman: She dare not appear "emotional," a word that's rarely applied to male politicians. Her sometimes-breathless performance on Friday didn't help.
Social and cultural conservatives may thrill to her tones. Political reporters may (indeed, do) yearn to see her run. Television producers eagerly anticipate the ratings her national candidacy might bring.
But for a party working to regain its footing as the champion of conservative ideas in a nation whose electorate will soon be ready to listen, this sled dog won't pull.
Republicans sometimes say they're looking for another Ronald Reagan: a full-fledged conservative with serious government experience who can make their party's creed not just unthreatening but downright attractive to most voters. But Sarah Palin, as she demonstrated on Friday, is no Ronald Reagan.
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doyle.mcmanus@latimes.com
