I think Linda Chavez over at Commentary summed it up best:
I’ve spent the last few days second-guessing my initial reaction to Sarah Palin. Maybe she really wasn’t up to the challenge, I worried (to myself, unlike some of my fellow conservatives). But I thought she did very well tonight. She’s a quick study, and even if she isn’t steeped in the intricacies of policy, she has the right framework and approach to issues: she favors a muscular foreign policy, believes in American exceptionalism, smaller government and lower taxes, and has faith in the American people. And she’s an optimist. Sounds a lot like someone I used to work for, another Western governor who became president and whose intelligence was often derided. Liberals always underestimated Ronald Reagan, but the people loved him.