A blockbuster Vanity Fair piece by Todd Purdum quotes many senior
members of John McCain's presidential campaign team trashing Alaska
Gov. Sarah Palin (R).

"They can't quite believe that for two frantic months last fall,
caught in a Bermuda Triangle of a campaign, they worked their tails
off to try to elect as vice president of the United States someone
who, by mid-October, they believed for certain was nowhere near ready
for the job, and might never be."

Said one aide: "I think, as I've evaluated it, I think some of my
worst fears... the after-election events have confirmed that her more
negative aspects may have been there... I saw her as a raw talent.
Raw, but a talent. I hoped she could become better."