I think Mitt Romney should pick Sarah Palin as his running mate. Now I know this won’t happen and I know folks on this site and elsewhere think I’m crazy for suggesting that he give her the number two spot. But I think out of all the potential VP picks out there not only is she the most experienced having had the job in ’08, she’s the most battle ready, battle tested, durable, she’s the most effective conservative since Ronald Reagan and I believe now she’s ready to be the starter. So coach Romney needs to give her another shot.

In keeping with my football analogy she was like a highly touted quarterback that left college far too early and instead opted for millions of dollars as the first pick overall in the draft. She was selected by a team of which the head coach, in this case John McCain was the only one who had faith in her ability to pan out. She didn’t have the support of the GM, the owner, president, or vice president; and everyone in the front office tried their best to prevent her from playing her game. She’s the Tim Tebow of the 2008 campaign, someone who wins in spite of the organization, not for or because of the organization.

Since that time she’s successfully gained the vital experience and mental makeup needed to succeed at the next level. She’s gone from possible first round bust and historical blunder to a two time political comeback player of the year in 2009 and 2010 consecutively. She’s the most improved political player and has the highest political win percentage of any Republican since 2010.

She’s quickly gone from Tim Couch to Eli Manning in a span of three and a half years, which is remarkable given the amount of bad press and the fact that once again the front office had little if any support for her. I can’t name one political figure within the conservative movement much less the Republican Party that not only has gotten significantly better as a politician but makes everyone around her better. There aren’t too many politicians out there right now who can elevate the performance of everyone else the way she has and can.

Put her in coach, she’s ready to play.