The RNC had nothing to do with the pick. McCain picked her (against the advice of staff, I hear) and did so for very cynical and sexist reasons. He felt like she was young, attractive, had the necessary plumbing, and would get the conservatives. He, IMO, never gave more than a moments thought to her credentials. This probably had more to do with the public outside of the fundamentalist community rejecting her and questioning his judgement.

As to feeling bad for her, see bobad's quote above as well as these:

_"Our opponent ... is someone who sees America, it seems, as being so imperfect, imperfect enough, that he's palling around with terrorists who would target their own country." — Palin, to donors Saturday at a private airport in Englewood, Colo.

_"These are the same guys who think patriotism is paying higher taxes. Remember, that's what Joe Biden said. Now, this is not a man who sees America as you and I see America. We see America as a force for good in this world. We see an America of exceptionalism. [reacting to crowd] Yes, USA! USA!..."

I could go on and on. Feel bad for her? A dupe of the "RNC". I don't buy it. She is a barracuda (her words and Freudian) and an opportunist. She is deserving of no pity. But her resiliency, along with the fact that Americans have an attention span of about 15 minutes, does worry me.