Heh. Admittedly, this is pure comment bait, but I do find it fascinating that she remains the most popular Republican in these polls month after month while making no headway against Huck and Mitt and actually losing ground to a dark horse like Gingrich. I don’t want to overstate things — she’s only five points back of the lead — but a media superstar with a double-digit edge in favorability who’s already been on a national ticket and who’s wildly more dynamic than her competition should probably be … way ahead, no? Instead, this:

Huckabee leads the way, such as it is, with 25%. He’s followed by Romney at 23%, Gingrich at 21%, and Palin at 20%. Ron Paul finishes further back with 8%.

Palin continues to be by far the most well liked of the Republican candidates, with 69% of GOP voters holding a favorable opinion of her. That’s more than 10 points higher than any of the other potential contenders with 58% viewing Huckabee positively, 57% for Gingrich, and 54% for Romney. But that higher level of favorability is not translating into support for President.

Huckabee has clear leads in the South and Midwest, and is up with conservatives and women. Romney is ahead in the West, and holds the advantage with moderates and men.

I have no explanation except that doubts about her qualifications must run almost as deep among Republicans as they do among independents. Although here’s an interesting theory from the Anchoress, who also rates Sarahcuda favorably:

Palin’s base needs to calm down a little, and realize that when they act like the rightwing version of gaga-eyed Obamabots, they’re not helping their candidate. There is no such thing as a “perfect” person, certainly no such thing as a “perfect” politician, and when I hear someone refer to Palin as “my Sarah,” or I get an email from someone for daring to criticize “our Sarah,” I frankly want to puke. Such emails do not convince me to “love” Sarah Palin, they actually make me distrust her political viability all the more, because I distrust emotionalism in politics.

That sounds … familiar. Her diehard supporters at C4P are already marking their calendars for her official presidential campaign announcement — February 6, 2011 in Illinois, if you’re wondering — but assuming my “no qualifications” theory is correct (and it probably is), chart me a path to how she overcomes that in the next 10 months with no elective office and only Fox News segments and another book tour available to show her experience and mastery of the issues. Make me believe.