I have a counter-intuitive thought.
Palin's "survival" in the debate may be a detriment to the Republican party in the long-run.
Why?
Assuming Obama wins, the GOP may well be dumb enough to nominate Palin in 2012, thus prolonging their banishment in the political wilderness.
If Obama wins, Palin will be able to claim that she was the only reason the McCain ticket had any base support.
I think she is already positioning herself for '12 by criticizing McCain's Michigan pullout.
If she runs, who beats her for the nomination. Romney? Huckabee? Gingrich? Sanford? The GOP bench is weak.
It will be Palin against about 10 men. She'll have the "it" factor. She'll have had plenty of time to make herself sound more polished.
I wouldn't count her out to be the '12 Republican nominee. I am sure there will be an "anti-Palin" vote in the '12 GOP primary...but it will be divided.
She'll win Iowa easily because the GOP caucuses are full of evangelicals. She'll come close in New Hampshire, but kick butt in South Carolina and win a bunch of Southern states on Super Tuesday.
I am also guessing she will be able to raise a ton of money for her primary bid.
Do I worry about her beating Obama in '12? Not really...not unless Obama does a really bad job. But the economy will be better by then (can it get any worse?) and Obama will be able to take credit.
But whether or not she wins or not, the republican party looks to be on-track to choose a Bushian figure as their next standard-bearer.
I would argue that if they do so, they will only prolong their time in the political wilderness because I think independents and dems will never trust her. You never get a second chance to make a first impression.
The Republicans will continue to be considered the party of incompetence and unseriousness.
If the republicans were smart, they'd be grooming Bobby Jindal to be their next President. He's a right wing kook, but at least he has a brain and some competence. But Palin has now leapfrogged him as future star du jour. Combined with the GOP's inherent racism and xenophobia, they are probably going to pass over someone who actually had a chance to be a competent president.
But this is what they get when they make anti-intellectualism and culture war the cornerstone of their appeal. And so they are stuck with the albatross that is Sarah Palin.
So, yeah, she didn't crash and burn Thursday night. But maybe that's better in the long run for the Democrats.