"And unlike Nixon, Ms. Palin’s credentials to serve as vice president — much less president — are a weak point. Nixon had been a vice president, senator and member of Congress, while Ms. Palin is in her first term as governor of Alaska. By stepping down before finishing her term, she cannot claim to be even a one-term governor. Without a positive record of accomplishment as governor, Ms. Palin may find she has little to run on as she seeks to achieve a critical political goal: expanding her appeal beyond the conservative voters who crowd her rallies and write checks on her behalf."

[nyt]