Stirred the base, but her inexperience also cut against McCain to a degree.  Still, probably the best choice open to him.

Given the context of this list, I'm not sure its entirely wise to rate this item until the votes are tallied up and we know whether this play worked or not. This leaves me perplexed as to why many have already declared this move either genius or disastrous, seeing as we don't have the data yet. I guess partisans don't need no stinking data...

UPDATE: Wait, TABLOIDS count? That's a chickenhearted excuse for journalism and nothing else. They even make the slant filled garbage from the "mainstream" look good. Are we done with the reflex test in politics yet?

I'm no political scientist but this could go down as the worst choice for presidential running mate EVER, even surpassing George H. Bush's selection of Dan Quayle.

As I write this on Wed Sept 24, 2008, Palin is a tabloid fixture, joining the likes of Brittney Spears, OJ Simpson and Oprah Winfrey, with her and her family's messed up personnel life along with some other not so spectacular moments from her poltical career and it can lead to some really embarrasing moments for John McCain and his campaign.

So to put it simply, to me it seems like Palin can't help McCain but only can hurt his campaign. And should McCain get elected it seems like Palin will just hurt his tenure for his entire presidential term.

And should McCain get elected, any want to guess what the over-under is until rumors start breaking out of McCain having an affair ith Palin? or reports about how much Cindy McCain hates Palin?

Over Tom Ridge?  Or Kailey Bay Hutchinson (if they wanted another 'woman' candidate)?  Note how the repub handlers are keeping the slut-raiser away from any real questions. . .it's like they are keeping the slow-witted candidate carefully away from reporters due to the mounting inconsistencies and outright mistakes in her soundbites.  If we're smart, we should see through such a sham of a choice.  But America hasn't been very smart or literate concerning recent elections.  Palin is a terrible choice in light of smarter and more qualified candidates. . .she's meant to blame the (drum roll) 'media' for not being 'fair'. . .a plan that had some traction until the markets went kaput.  Any broad who doesn't believe in evolution or disagrees with almost all known science concering environment/global warming won't have any real answers concerning the present fiscal crisis.  Gawd will provide!

A very poor choice. This woman is a female version of Chaney. The fact that she refuses to cooperation with the investigation of trooper-gate indicates she must have something to hide. The more I find out about her, the more I'm certain she was a bad choice. I also notice when she is asked a tough direct question during interviews, she really doesn't give an answer--just god, apple pie, american flag rhetoric. Unfortunately some people will vote for her no matter what--just like they did for Bush and you saw how that turned out!

  It could have been worse...

But seriously...

The McCain team must have felt brilliant for their timing by announcing a woman on the ticket the day after Obama's nomination and the Democratic convention.  But that's spectacularly short sighted. They got some positive coverage on day one and stole Obama's post convention thunder. By day two they must have started second guessing the wisdom of picking a BA graduate in journalism from Idaho who did TV sports, ran a snowmobile shop, got involved in small town politics and almost made it half way through her term as Governor of a state that has roughly the same population as Winnipeg, Manitoba. By day three it was abundantly clear that their candidate was woefully lacking as an attempt to draw the 18 million voters who were supporting a Yale Law School graduate with a wide array of private and public practice on her resume, including making partner in a firm, before dedicating herself for the last decade and a half to national public service.  Good headlines on the noon news on Friday though.

To anyone proud of and defending the choice of Sarah Pallin, the hunter:

i am a conservative closest to libertarian i guess. i have always voted republican or libertarian and now no way will i vote for McCain because he chose someone who murders innocent creatures, takes pleasure in causing the death of innocent animals. utterly sickening, disgusting, heartbreaking - bizarre. did you know Clint Eastwood, from what i've heard, a conservative republican is vegan and have you heard of Matthew Scully, George Bush's former speech writer? he wrote an amazing must read; "Dominion, The Power of Man and The Suffering of Animals". Please google 'Matthew Scully" and read this most amazing and thought-provoking book. i have tried so hard to make it clear to everyone that republicans are not for torture and suffering and murder of animals. the sooner Pallins ugly cruelty is off the radar the better. oh and by the way, i also heard something horrible about Michelle Obama, that she worked to support vivisection? can anyone verify this?

I am sickened and saddened beyond words at the choice of a cold-blooded murderer of innocent animals as V.P. for the republican party. God help us all.

If a man aspires towards a righteous life, his first act of abstinence is from injury to animals. --Albert Einstein

No humane being, past the thoughtless age of boyhood, will wantonly murder any creature which holds its life by the same tenure that he does. --Henry David Thoreau

"Thou shalt not kill" does not apply to murder of one's own kind only, but to all living beings; and this Commandment was inscribed in the human breast long before it was proclaimed from Sinai. --Leo Tolstoy

Please put the ladybug outside without harming her. --Winston Churchill to his butler

Please Note - Title Correction:

The title of a must read for all, by George Bushs former speech writer, Matthew Scully (matthewscully.com) is Dominion, The Power of Man, The Suffering of Animals and The Call for Mercy.

God help us all if people are so blind to the suffering of Gods creatures great and small.

Bold move indeed, and I liked it. I'm really enjoying the reviews of our Liberal friends, the content of their criticism is exactly what I expected. Of coarse if Obama were to have gone that route, Liberals would be showering him with praise. Their God is a community organizer with zero accomplishments, and we shouldn't forget he went to Harvard. Lets put another lawyer in the White House.

This pick didn't surprise me.  I actually fully expected McCain to make an unconventional choice, based on the comments he has been making about the VP pick for the past few months.

I tend to agree with Irishgit, this is a high risk, high reward type of selection.  She won't pick up the Hillary voters that McCain covets, but she does shore up McCain's conservative base, which was a problem for him.  I know she's a good campaigner, so perhaps she might perform above expectations, which I will be honest, are quite low right now.  The key for her will be her ability to prove to voters that she is up to the job.  If she makes major gaffes, it might make things very difficult for the McCain camp.

Way too early to tell how this will play out, and as I've said elsewhere, I think this is a high risk, potential high reward selection for the GOP.

wrapped up the election with his pick of palin

  As Randy says, I don't know about how brilliant a choice it was, but to step on Obama's speech from the night before and attract all media resources to Dayton, instead of to Beaver, Pennsylvania, IS brilliant.  Palin is a gutsy choice, indicating the McCain campaign is locked in to what Obama's campaign is doing, reacting with split-second efficiency to their deplorable snubbing of the first woman to have a legitimate shot at the presidency.  All their pretty rhetoric rings hollow when you realize what she accomplished and was then forced to capitulate to her "opponent" which she still calls Obama, and give a speech endorsing him, and it better be good enough.

It's funny to read some liberals' opinions that the choice of a pro-2nd Amendment, anti-abortion mother of five is an insult to women.  But, the total political disrespecting of Hillary Clinton by Obama, after she garnered more votes in the primary process than he did, is not the least bit insulting to women.  They didn't even dare risk a roll call. 

I predict Palin is formidable, ready for the onslaught of criticism being loaded into democrat cannons for her.  Independent women will give her a fair look and she will look good to them.  But, the election is for president.  Soon, the distraction from the mano-a-mano comparison will be behind us and America gets a good look at both men and their respective platforms.  At that point, the value of McCain's choice will be a small plus. 

I guess the jury is out on this.  I would never have guessed this choice.

I've already commented on this on another list but I will add that the timing of the announcement was pure genius. As dynamic and compelling as Obama Barack's speech was in accepting the nomination for the presidency, McCain has stolen the thunder and brought the attention right back to him and his campaign, where he wants it. Brilliant. McCain and Sarah Pallin are dominating the news this morning.

good choice!