From a Rasmussen poll of 1000 republican likely voters taken on November 5, 2008 – the margin of error was 3%:

…I know it’s a long way off, but if you had your choice for the next Republican nominee for President would you choose Sarah Palin, Mitt Romney, Mike Huckabee, Bobby Jindal, Tim Pawlenty or Charlie Crist?

64% Palin

11% Romney

12% Huckabee

4% Jindal

1% Pawlenty

2% Crist

6% Not sure

[emphasis added]

And under “what color is the sky in your world?”:

…Thinking back on the Presidential Campaign did Sarah Palin help or hurt John McCain’s chance of winning the election?

69% Help

20% Hurt

6% She had no impact

5% Not sure

[emphasis added]

The margin of delusion was close to 70%.

Exit Polls: Palin Hurt Ticket with Large Number of Voters [Jonathan Turley]

…Over sixty percent of voters said that she was manifestly unqualified – that obviously includes many Republicans. Other polls have shown Palin was the most cited reason for voting against McCain by voters. While she clearly did bring out the hardcore faithful, she also clearly scared off the independents and moderates are that were essential for a win…

Let this all be a lesson to you. Even with one of the worst vice presidential picks, the most poorly run campaign in the history of the republic, and an economy and government near collapse due to republican incompetence – over 57,000,000 people (about 46% of the electorate) voted for the republican ticket. One in five people you pass on the street (out of a total population of 305,000,000) voted for the ticket.

We should have won by thirty points.

You all better start preparing for the mid-term elections now. There’s a lot of work to be done.