Give it up
The question was perfectly sensible to anybody who's been paying attention. I didn't have to think about it, and as I pointed out, almost nobody (except Palin) gave it a second thought, until this ridiculous ex-post-facto argument was handed down by the spinmeisters.
Take a step back, man: You're arguing that your ignorance (or rather, your new-found ignorance) excuses Sarah Palin's ignorance. I realize that that sort of argument works well with "the base", which confuses ignorance with "authenticity", but it doesn't cut it with me. Ignorant is ignorant. We're talking about a potential Backup President here, and ignorance is more than just sad in that position, it will likely have deadly consequences for the country.