Time will tell. Governor Palin appears to be very respected in her home state of Alaska. She is intelligent and articulate. I'm still an undecided voter.

Original Comment (6/5/08): A potential Sarah Palin Vice-Presidential pick by John McCain has more upside to it than downside. Being a highly regarded governor with strong fiscal and social conservative credentials, and having a reputation for being an expert on the environment should do wonders for McCain in quest for the Presidency. Addressing a variety of issues, from energy to caring for the developmentally disabled (having given birth to a child with Down Syndrome), Palin is fast becoming a star in the Republican Party. Moreover, having a female (and being young) on the ticket would be beneficial to McCain as he would likely attract female voters who may have felt disaffected with the soon-to-be suspended Presidential campaign by Hillary Clinton. On the downside, Alaska is already a tried-and-true red state, and Palin would not really be delivering it. But in any case, putting Palin in the McCain ticket would provide some kind of counterpoint to Barack Obama's bid (and possibly re-energizing it) as it would please conservatives, who are wary of McCain; and attract women, who are going to be VERY crucial in this 2008 race for the White House.

Update (8/29/08): John McCain took a bold move in choosing Alaska's Governor Sarah Palin to be his running mate. Palin brings gubernatorial experience to this race, something that was lagging in the two tickets prior to her being tapped by McCain. In any case, this race will be historic in that either we get the first African American President of the United States, or the first female Vice-President of the United States. It should be fun.

Excellent choice! Obviously the selection of VP for any camp is a strategic move...duh And by the way this does not void the oposition to Obama's inexperience. Some inexperience in the VP office is acceptable, but in the top office --- I don't think so.

The whole thing feels more like a chess move than anything else.  Will she syphon more disappointed middle aged women out of the Clinton camp than Bidden will pull from the septagenarian McCain legion.  In a close vote it might be the tipper, but at the end of the day, I don't think that she will help McCain any more than Geraldine Ferraro's feminie wiles put Walter Mondale over the top in '84, or Henry Cabbot Lodge Jr. lent an air of stately seniority to Nixon's campaign in '60.  In the eyes of the the electorate the main event will remain McCain vs. Obama.  The VP bout is an undercard at best.

Surprising choice, rather what a true maverick would do.  I think the kool-aid coverage is over.  Now America will see how a press SHOULD cover a political convention.  Both political conventions. 

I think, rather than ceding the experience issue, Gov. Palin tars and feathers Obama with it.  I think she will make Biden look like the American media's caricature of McCain: old, angry and intellectually wrong on most issues.  McCain will wind up looking like the wise, old, grandfatherly candidate.  History is made, either way. 

Gov. Palin brings back the conservative base, lures over a substantial number of PUMA's and guarantees the 2nd Amendment question is asked over and over.  The post-convention "bounce-back" brings the race even again, and on we go to November, spending record amounts in accomplishing essentially nothing for 67 days.  If you live in a battleground state, you'll be reciting talking points by rote memorization, not needing even a cue card.

Her resume is very thin- her intellect is questionable. Too conservative, pro oil, anti health care reform- pro business- Conservative.....LOL from a state that receives more government handouts in the nation then the bluest state. McCain just blew any chances of winning PA- and even Ohio-

  smart choice overcoming two weakness points in his campaign

1- age

2-feminine presence

Around a month ago, Stark and I were discussing McCain's possible choices as his VP and she named only one person: Sarah Palin. So, I did a little research and agreed that she would be a good choice for more than one reason.

First, Barry has insisted that change would mean not tapping into the staid political machine of Washington and then he chooses Biden, a stuck-in-the-mud, 39-year cog in that machine. In that light, McCain made a good strategic decision, as his choice more than neutralizes Barry's argument. Palin, a staunch Conservative, has five children, one of which was born with Down's Syndrome, which she knew while she was pregnant. She did not perceive the birth of this child as a potential nuisance to the medical system. This makes her a good moral choice. As a Mayor and Governor, she has Executive experience with budgets and actually running the administration of a strategic state, as a fiscal Conservative. Whether Democrats will admit it or not, fiscal conservatism is what everyone wants. Experience? She trounces Barack in experience, who has showed up for work a mere 144 times as a Junior Senator. Being a woman is significant to many and may possibly swing votes. If Barry weren't foolish, he surely would have picked Hillary instead of Biden. (I heard that Barry was still in bed when a staffer came in to break the news to him. He threw the covers over his head, curled up into a fetal position and muttered, "Cancel all of my appointments until noon...on Monday.")

Is it over? No. But the Fat Lady is spraying her throat. It should be quite the lively home stretch. And, good night, Hillary 

Good call, Stark. Good choice, John. First impressions were excellent.

Tonight for dinner: Stark's favorite: Chicken crepes with a creamy Port Wine and mushroom sauce, veggies from the garden and a side of Calcium Ascorbate

Governor Palin is a tribute to what American women used to be and SHOULD be. She is PRO-LIFE! What a wonderful "choice" John McCain has made! I'm just not sure the country, in it's present state, deserves her.

She has an impressive record though she has only been a governor for roughly a year and half. I hear a lot people complaining about her lack of experience, but Obama doesn't have much more than she does. She is sort of an unknown, so I am not going to form an opinion yet. I am still surprised Romney wasn't the pick. If McCain selected her hoping that she would attract many of the Hillary voters that was a poor strategy. I am not so certain that female voters were voting for Clinton strictly because she was a woman. They liked her messaged and wanted HER. That is not meant as a criticism. I am simply saying I am not certain that Palin is going to win McCain a lot more votes strictly because of her gender. It will be interesting to see her debate Biden later this year with his vast experience. This pick by McCain is outside the box which can be viewed as a plus or a minus depending on your perspective. I need to learn more before I guage how much she will help him if any at all.

I don't really know a whole lot about her yet, but from what I do know, I think McCain made a good choice for a running mate. Yes, she is fairly young, but I think that really helps to counter McCain's old age issues.  I also approve of her solidly pro-life stance. While she may be somewhat inexperienced in politics in general, she does have once thing on her resume that McCain, Obama, and Biden don't. She's been the head of an executive branch of government. I've been reluctant to support McCain, but the choice of Palin makes it much more likely that I'll be voting Republican this November.

Meant to siphon Hillary zombies, this is clearly a choice by McCain's party instead of the man.  But I'd be surprised if Hillazombies would be fooled by an anti-choice babe from a state nearly as politically corrupt as Louisiana.  And McCain can no longer swing the 'inexperienced' sword.  It's another shift by this campaign that seems to be following the dems lead.  ("You're for change- We're for change!"  "You like wimmen voters?  So do we.")  This strategy can be smart but stands a chance of backfiring.  And this pick smacks of pure window dressing when other VP candidates were considered.  Don't let Palin debate Biden- he will send her back to her corrupt state in pieces. . .

Original missive- On paper, a solid if unspectacular choice.  A woman candidate can bring some votes to the table.  Downsides are (1) she doesn't bring anymore states over to McCain and (2) who the hell really cares about Alaskan politics anyway?

The choice comes off as a bit of a punch to Obama's nuts for not picking a woman. We'll see how they do in courting the disgruntled Dems, but there were certainly safer picks as well as more sensational picks than her, so I'll toss a three and see where things go.
UPDATE: I did some research and if I may be crass for a moment, I just might hit it if given the opportunity...

  Female = +, Conservative = +, squeaky clean record = +, she is young = +, beautiful = +.

She already has more quality leadership experience than B. Hussein Obama and it appears she does not have any close ties to former terrorists, anti-white pastors or slumlords and she owns less than 7 houses, nor does she believe in the teachings of Karl Marx or Che Guevara.

Gov. Palin will also be able to communicate how huge an oil supply Alaska has to offer, her husband works on the North Slope.

Very nice choice.

UPDATE:   Her selection is clearly part of a strategy to exploit the potential rift in the Democrats between Obama and Clinton supporters.  As such, its not a bad choice, but carries some risks.  Palin is anti-choice and against same sex marriage which will not be pluses with Clintonites.  Further, her experience in political office is pretty slim, being in the second year of her first term as Governor.  This blunts the GOP attack on Obamas inexperience, particularly considering McCains age and the possibility of a Palin presidency.

Speaking as an old political aide, this choice seems to have more downside than upside for the GOP, at least at first glance.

ORIGINAL

On the upside, she's a woman, she's a social conservative (albeit not a fanatic about it), she has some environmental and fiscal responsibility credentials, she's young, she has a record of integrity, and she's kind of easy on the eyes. On the downside, just who the hell is she? 

From a political standpoint, this seems to be a smart and calculating move. The reason he picked her is so obvious. He needed a counter to Obama's African American roots. A better choice and one that would have had more substance and merit would have been Condoleeza Rice. 

By the way, by picking Palin, McCain just took away his key arguement, the Obama expeience factor. Critical considering his age, and the possibility that she could be running the country.

  What a great choice.Mccain  did what Obama didnt, he chose a woman for his veep. 

A choice outside mainstream political circles, ie...Washington DC. It's time for a change. Here are some websites to familiarize yourselves with her. http://www.palinforamerica.com/ http://palinforvp.blogspot.com/
http://palinforvp.blogspot.com/

The problem might be Gov. Palin is smarter than both the 'boys'.

Governor Palin is a good choice, but I feel like her newborn baby needs her right now.

Strong conservatative... personable.... over 90% approval rating in Alaska...strong ethic policies ...no "baggage" from Bush administration. Throw in female, which shouldn't be a deciding factor, but it is. Excellent choice.