Take a look at the list of "average people" who have been President.
The list doesn't include one distinguished President on it.
People will often point to Abraham Lincoln as an "average person", because he wasn't a patrician. Except for the fact that he was a genius, he might have been considered average.
Our founders intended Congress to be the house of the common man, because it was supposed to control the money. The Senate and the Presidency were for more renowned, more educated men.
Sarah Palin is a career politician. She has gone from city council to mayor to government appointment to governor: a career ladder pattern of advancement.