Palin enthusiast Noah Millman makes an argument:
I realize, of course, that she’s totally unqualified to be President at this point in time. If McCain were to die in February 2009, I hope Palin would have the good sense to appoint someone who is more ready to be President to be her Vice President, on the understanding that she would then resign and be appointed Vice President by her successor. (Lest anyone say that this is an absurd, unconstitutional or undemocratic scenario, recognize that this is pretty much what would happen in a Parliamentary system where, if the head of government dies, a successor is chosen by the party.)…
She’s not a President-in-waiting; she’s a President-in-training. That’s what Quayle was supposed to be, and to the extent he failed it was mostly because of his own personal qualities. Based on what I know of Palin, she doesn’t have that kind of problem. President-in-training is also what Nixon tried to be (he was also clearly unqualified to be President when nominated for Veep), though I don’t know that Ike saw it that way. I don’t think Palin has his problems, either.
Bottom line: the Presidency is no place for on-the-job training. But the Vice Presidency certainly can be.
The Dish 