Anything may be possible in America, but a Palin presidency is virtually implausible.

In Washington, compromise has become a dirty word.

Obama won the presidency on the strength of his message and the skills of the messenger. Now the talk of hope and change feels out of tune when so many Americans are out of work, over-mortgaged, and worried that life will be even tougher for their children.

For a man who has compared himself to Theodore Roosevelt and the nation's challenges to those of the Gilded Age, Obama put forward a tepid agenda.

By nominating Chuck Hagel to be his Defense secretary, President Obama is putting forward an aloof contrarian who doesn't suffer fools - a striving politician who considers himself above politics.

With gridlock the norm, Congress's approval rating is below 10 percent and the public has lost faith in its national leadership.

Palin seems to have forgotten that her poll ratings have plummeted since the summer of 2011.