The over-the-top attacks on Sarah Palin (my column topic today) and the way the press is writing her off are enough to get anyone’s blood up. But let’s not get carried away. This moment reminds a little of when Fred Thompson was first considering running and it seemed every conservative out there was convinced he was going to carry all before him and any gentle dissent was greeted with outrage. We know how that turned out. Palin is exciting, likable, and obviously has skills, but we just don’t know how she’s going to perform at this level (except we can expect the convention speech to be boffo). Being so unknown is a potentially huge asset in a “change election,” but it also carries downsides. We don’t know much about her and her family, at least not compared to anyone who’s been on the national stage for a while. Personally, I find the Bristol thing unsettling. Yes, it shows how “real” the Palins are. No, it’s not going to hurt among evangelicals. And no, it’s not going to–nor should it–have any effect on the election. But it’s a reminder there could be a lot of surprises here, and a teenage pregnancy is not typically the kind of example we want our first political families to set (although I’m obviously glad that she’s having the baby and getting married).

The fact is that Palin was largely a political, not a governing choice. I don’t think there’s anything wrong with that. I criticized Bush’s pick of Cheney because it wasn’t political enough. You’re not going to be able to govern unless you’re elected first. It seems pretty tough to me to argue that Palin is “ready on day one” to be president. She is ready–and will clearly be ready if she gets through the campaign in fine shape–to be vice president, which will be her job after all. And it will probably be a pre-Cheney, more traditional job description.

I don’t see any need for the McCain campaign to get twisted in knots trying to argue she’s immediate commander-in-chief material. Instead of invoking the Alaska National Guard and Russia and all that, the McCain people should just admit she doesn’t have national security experience, like almost every other governor in the country–like Pawlenty, Romney, Huckabee and Rudy for that matter. But she’ll be learning from John McCain, who does have extensive experience and is the one running for the top job. Then, they can get back to making the appropriate McCain-Obama comparisons on this.

Anyway, I’m excited about her too and about the direction she could point the GOP in, but the ultimate verdict depends on her performance.