...and there is no bright side to this country electing someone as hideously awful in every way as Sarah Palin.  But it is hyperbole to claim that "the world would end" under a Palin presidency.  I honestly don't think it would be _that much worse_ than the wretched zombie state we are in now.

We are out of money.  We have essentially no power in the political system.  Every aspect of our lives is controlled by greedy corporations and ineffectual institutions.  Our education system, infrastructure, health system and legal system are all in tatters.  Much of the Constitution continues to be compromised.  40% of the citizenry is flagrantly ignorant, and just as many (with significant overlap) are mentally unstable.  Our military is forever stretched to the breaking point in useless, costly wars we can neither win or leave.  And religious fundamentalism and gun fundamentalism already dominates our consciousness, with neither our politicians or our media interested in giving us the truth about either or about anything else.  We already have an ultra-Rightwing Supreme Court, and we are already in the later stages of failing to combat a single one of the 8 major looming crises about to hit America and the world in the next 20 years.

The only thing that could conceivably be hopeful about a Palin presidency is that her policies would inevitably come crashing down upon one another, since FOX Conservatism is not a sustainable way to govern, and she would end up fighting more with Republicans than with Democrats, and really tear the heart out of the Right (at least if they were sane and recognized what was happening, which they probably won't).  Palin might seek war in Iran, but Conservatives don't want to pay higher taxes or institute a draft, and China's generosity cannot last forever, so she might find this desire impossible.  She might implement a total government freeze on spending, but only until Republicans realized that the pork projects they get from Congress are among the only things keeping jobs in their districts.  She might continue to crack down on legal abortions until she realized that either the illegal abortion number would skyrocket or the number of poor children would increase, and both of these stats favor Democrats in the long run.  

A move from where we are now to a Palin presidency might not be much more dramatic than a move from being forced to watch the worst, most boring half-hour sitcom ever made to the worst, most boring full-hour sitcom ever made.