Is Sarah Palin fit to lead? As the former Alaska governor and 2008 Republican vice-presidential candidate launches her book this month, Going Rogue: An American Life, questions abound regarding her competence: Can she lead the GOP to victory in 2012?

With appearances on the Oprah Winfrey Show and Good Morning America with Barbara Walters, the former beauty queen is attempting to polish her tarnished image: She is trying to whitewash her numerous gaffes on the campaign trail, including the oft-cited Katie Couric interview that aired on CBS on September 24 and 25, 2008, in which she was unable to answer which magazines and newspapers she reads—and in which she appeared uninformed on key economic and foreign policy issues.  More embarrassing was how Mrs. Palin unwittingly took a prank call on November 1, 2008 from a well-known Canadian comedian posing as French President Nicolas Sarkozy. In the infamous six-minute call, Mrs. Palin discussed politics and the dangers of hunting with Vice President Dick Cheney, all the while being clueless she was not indeed speaking with the French president.

But the public has not forgotten. According to a CNN/Opinion Research Corporation survey, only 28 percent of voters think Mrs. Palin is qualified to be president. Among five presidential hopefuls for 2012, Mrs. Palin comes in last place. She takes a back seat to leader of the pack, Secretary of State Hilary Clinton with 67 percent, and other GOP rivals, former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney with about 50 percent and former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee with 43 percent.

A Washington Post-ABC news poll also found that 60 percent of all voters think Mrs. Palin is unqualified to be commander-in-chief. However, Republicans have more confidence in Mrs. Palin, with 61 percent of voters believing she is fit to lead, as do 37 percent of independents. The same poll also found the former governor to have a 52 percent unfavorable rating compared to a 76 favorable rating among the GOP.

So how do we square the discrepancy among voters at large and the Republican Party?

It is clear that the hockey mom with five children who is raising a baby with Down syndrome resonates with American conservatives. Mrs. Palin is a refreshing conservative voice that holds dear to the traditional values of the GOP. She is God-fearing and pro-life; she has a staunch record of tax cuts and fighting government corruption while governor of Alaska. She has also been leading the charge against President Barack Obama’s health care overhaul, making the public aware of the “death panels” inherent in the proposed legislation.

However, despite her modest accomplishments while governor of Alaska, Mrs. Palin lacks the necessary experience to be commander-in-chief. She has no foreign-policy credentials. Her clumsy explanation to ABC’s Charles Gibson on September 11, 2008 that Alaska borders Russia and thus, she has international bona fides is ludicrous. Mrs. Palin claimed she was qualified to be a heart-beat away from the presidency because, “It is from Alaska that we send those out to make sure that an eye is being kept on this very powerful nation, Russia, because they are right there, next to our state." Moreover, Mrs. Palin only received her passport in July 2007 before she visited members of the Alaska National Guard stationed in Kuwait. She had not traveled outside of the United States prior to this. She also only met foreign dignitaries for the first time shortly after being selected as the vice-presidential nominee for John McCain.

Mrs. Palin’s wherewithal and resolve to stay the course were also cast in doubt when she resigned from her position as governor of Alaska on July 26, 2009. Leaving office eighteen months before the end of her first term shows her interests supersede those of Alaskans and the public at large. She claimed that if she remained at her job she would be a “lame duck” governor due to the 21 ethics complaints launched against her.  According to Mrs. Palin, these “frivolous” attacks have cost the state government “millions” and were diverting the necessary money, staff and resources needed to address the more pressing issues of Alaska such as education, fish research and investing in troopers. Among the suits she has been charged with are: abusing her position to solicit personal legal donations, misusing state funds and staff while traveling and failing to submit documents disclosing gifts received. But the majority of these claims were dismissed.

Mr. Palin’s explanation is flimsy: She will be unable to shake the charge of having quit under pressure. By contrast, Ronald Reagan finished both his terms while he was governor of California from 1967 to 1975, despite being harangued by his critics and the media. Why could not Mrs. Palin finish one term as governor?

Many speculate that Mrs. Palin’s true motivation for resigning as governor of Alaska is so she can lay the groundwork for a bid for the White House in 2012. Let’s hope this is not the case.

During the past 10 months, America has seen the effects of lack of experience in the Oval Office. Before running for president, Mr. Obama only served two years in the U.S. Senate and seven years in the Illinois Senate. He was best known previously as a community organizer in Chicago who led voter-registration drives. His only foreign-policy credential before being elected as president, unlike his fellow Democratic presidential candidates, was that he opposed the war in Iraq from the start. He argued this demonstrated that he had “the judgment” to lead. Yet judgment and experience cannot be so neatly separated since experience is an indispensable prerequisite for good foreign-policy judgments.

Since becoming president, Mr. Obama has tripled the size of government with his massive bail-out plan and is systematically taking the country far left with legislation such as cap and trade and health care. He threatens national security by advancing policies that seek to appease our enemies at all cost. More importantly, he continues to remain paralyzed in making a decision as to whether he should send more troops to Afghanistan as recommended by the U.S. Commander in Afghanistan Gen. Stanley A. McChrystal. Mr. Obama’s inexperience is resulting in economic decline at home and weakness abroad.

The nation cannot gamble once again on another novice. Mrs. Palin told Oprah November 16, 2009 that running for president in 2012 is “not on her radar.” Let’s hope for the future of the GOP and the fate of our nation it stays that way.