Understanding the Opponent
Ask most rhetoricians and they’ll tell you that Hitler was an amazing speaker. That doesn’t mean that the rhetoricians agree with anything that came out of his mouth. But it means he had the power to sway a hell of a lot of people.
So, I think when people say Palin is a good speaker, they’re not necessarily saying “She’s awesome!” They’re just noting a quality about her that could actually mean trouble for the Democratic party. And in my opinion, it would heed everyone well to pay attention to her and to read the opinions of others (even the Palin lovers) to see how they’re being swayed. Understanding the “opponent” and their followers is key to winning a race. Ignoring and un-following them is probably not a very good idea.