akenaton, you said "there has been a nasty sort of elitism at work here since Mrs Palin appeared on the scene.

Those who profess concern over racism, homophobia,etc, have no hesitation about waving their "parrot papers" in the faces of those they perceive to be less worthy.

I disagree strongly with Mrs Palin's opinions, but to fight her on anything other than those opinions is cowardly!"

Sorry, but expecting a US VP candidate (and potential President) to be well-educated (formally or otherwise) and of excellent intelligence and judgment in areas relating to national and international affairs (including law) is not "elitism." At least not in any negative sense of the term.
It is one thing to elect the average Joe or Jane, with no special training or experience, to the city council or even to the US House of Representatives. Electing such a person to the office of Pres. or VP of the nation is quite another thing.

Barack Obama gets ridiculed and criticized for speaking in an articulate, educated way and for coming off as cool, collected, and confident.   This makes him "an elitist?"   (Of course, if he spoke like a rapper, he'd be put down for not having a "Presidential" image or for sounding too "ethnic.")
But when Palin's critics point out that her interview answers are often superficial, circular, or even non-sensical, it's those critics who are being "elitist?"

I think Thom Hartmann addressed the "elitism" issue very well:

Reclaiming The Issues: Bringing Back The Elites


[Excerpts;]MSNBC's Chris Matthews Friday suggested that Barack Obama is "elite" in part because Obama was wearing sunglasses:
"Can Barack Obama, a man of elite education if not elite background, break into the middle class and talk regular? Can he talk to regular people in their kitchens tonight, in their living rooms?

[...]

Everybody thinks Barack is too cool. In other words, there he is with the shades, getting on the plane. A little bit too elegant, a little bit too proud of his own bearing. Is that a problem, that he's just too cool for words? In other words, elite?"

Chris Matthews is wrong.

...


If George W Bush has taught us one lesson, it's that the god-awful consequences of having the guy you want to have beer with running the most complex, powerful, and massive institution in the world, the US Government, is a terrible mistake.

John McCain graduated from the Naval Academy in June 1958; he was fifth from the bottom, 894th out of 899. He has no training at law. Sarah Palin attended 5 schools before getting a degree from North Idaho College that qualified her to be a TV sportscaster. North Idaho College takes pride in its "open-door" admissions policy. She also has no training at law.

Most of our great presidents have been trained in law, from John Adams and Thomas Jefferson to Lincoln to FDR and Clinton. Bush and Cheney have no legal training and we were told how great the MBA presidency would be.
It's been a disaster.

Barack Obama got his B.A. from Columbia University in New York and his J.D. from Harvard. While at Harvard he was president of the prestigious Harvard Law Review. He was a professor of constitutional low at the University of Chicago. Joe Biden similarly has a JD degree.

It's time for an elite presidency. It's time for the best and the brightest to once again lead this nation.[/quote]