I suppose it’s widely known that I like and respect Sarah Palin. I think highly of her record governing Alaska. I think she’s made a huge and positive impact endorsing candidates around the country this year. And I certainly don’t share the unhinged notions about her that afflict one of my friends and colleagues.

But why the hell did Palin endorse Christine O’Donnell yesterday in the Delaware Senate primary?

I haven’t agreed with all of Palin’s endorsements to date. John McCain in Arizona, I understood because a) she’s personally loyal to him; b) J.D. Hayworth is a moron; and c) on the issues that matter most, spending and national security, McCain is better than Hayworth, whether “true conservatives” like it or not.

I wasn’t crazy about the endorsement of Rand Paul in Kentucky, but that’s mainly because of Paul’s moonbat father, and the fact that the kid sounds an awful lot like him. But given the choices in Kentucky this year, it’s probably fair to say Paul is now the most palatable choice.

But Christine O’Donnell?

OK, I get it that Palin prefers to endorse the more conservative candidate, and O’Donnell certainly espouses positions that are more conservative than the voting record of her primary opponent, U.S. Rep. Mike Castle. I get it that Palin likes to support women – yeah, the Mama Grizzlies. Fine by me.

And I understand that Palin is tight with Sean Hannity, who has a tendency to put Christine O’Donnell on the air either as a guest host (why, I have no idea, because she’s terrible) or as a panelist.

So the surface reasons make sense.

But has Palin listened to this interview? Is Palin aware of O’Donnell’s abysmal handling of her own campaign finances? Has she heard O’Donnell blather on about the people in her bushes? Has she seen the polls that say O’Donnell is an almost certain loser in the general election if she gets through the primary?

Here’s what’s most ironic about this: You know all the critics of Palin who wrongly say she’s stupid, unbalanced and unskilled at governing? You know how they say without any justification that she’s just in it for her personal glory and ambition? Those criticisms of Palin are complete and utter garbage.

But if you leveled them at Christine O’Donnell, you’d be right on the mark.

O’Donnell has no qualifications for the job she’s seeking. She practically runs for office in lieu of anything more substantive to do with her life. She is a professional conservative activist, and I don’t mean that as a compliment. She’s a media talking head, and not even a good one, and she doesn’t demonstrate the slightest clue about how to be an effective senator in the unlikely – no, impossible – event that she is elected.

As for Palin, well, nobody’s perfect. I am still a fan, but endorsing Christine O’Donnell was a mistake. As many things as are wrong with Mike Castle, he’s the only Republican who has a chance to turn Joe Biden’s old Senate seat red in Delaware, and Palin has just made that a much more challenging proposition.

In a year when the GOP has a chance to take control of the Senate, but will truly need to win just about every competitive race to do it, there’s no margin for error to nominate an empty suit who mouths the platitudes of a “true conservative” but is the walking embodiment of “lights on, nobody home.”

If not for Palin, I don’t think serious reformers would be rising up as they are all across the country. Her impact this year has been huge and good. It would be a shame if the GOP fell just short of the Super Bowl because, just as it was getting into range to kick the winning field goal, Palin threw an interception and rescued the Democrats from themselves.

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