Well, Palin obviously really scares the Democrats.

If you believe that "the only bad publicity is an obituary notice" then she's a massive winner. The pregnancy will continue to play out between now and the election with plenty of photo ops and family stories, there may be a marriage or a betrayal (neither will be a problem,) she'll be photographed/spotted repeatedly in airports all over the country with a cute child, a pleasant smile and some down-to-earth commentary... and then when the dirt is dug, people will already feel like defending a new sort of politician who reminds them of the good old days when people never had to lock their doors and mayors would stop for a chat on the street rather than clattering overhead in the taxpayer-funded corporate chopper.