Well, I just got back from visiting my parents so I have a couple things to report from a Republican family's perspective.
Both my mom and sister looked almost giddy seeing Palin on television. My mom was leaning towards Obama until tonight and my sister wasn't planning on voting at all. Chock up two more votes for McCain from Oregon. Pandering or no pandering they love the woman based on what CNN was reporting. We'll see how she does in the debates, which they both plan on watching carefully.
I completely misread the Down Syndrome child situation. The first thing my mom said about the woman was that something about the fact she (Palin) had her child despite knowing about their disability before birth. Basically gave my sister a knowing look and seemed quite happy with Palin's pro-life stance. She doesn't just give lip service the pro-life movement, she lives by it. This will likely have a bigger impact than I gave it credit for.
Even from my perspective I have to admit McCain's campaign at least looks more attractive on the surface. I'm still not voting for the douche, but the more I think about it, and the more I hear about it on television, I realize this move is nothing short of genius.
Hillary stating that "We should all be proud of Governor Sarah Palin's historic nomination" certainly isn't going to help Obama's camp either.
Genius really is an understatement. Lets summarize:
1. Her approval rating in Alaska is 80%. Last election Alaska was a swing-state. This could be huge.
2. She's pro-life and lives by it. All those evangelical votes that were on the fence or leaning towards Obama? Good chance a substantial number were just handed back to the Republicans.
3. Experience doesn't matter, as Obama has proven. I see this being a non-issue outside of talk-show debates.
4. Iraq. She has an 18 year-old son headed there in September. She has a vested interest in ensuring that troops get what they need. Instant credibility, experience be damned.
5. She's attractive. Don't downplay this. Looks are every bit important (if not more-so) than politics. If she comes off as competent in the debates experience will literally be a non-issue for most voters.
I could go on for pages about her character. I have to admit, I really like the woman. I realize McCain is pandering, almost insultingly, by picking her as VP. However, seeing her on television really does wonders to remove a lot of the feelings of "McSame" and "Bush 2" because everything just feels different now. It gave his campaign the boost in youth, energy, and even change that it so badly needed.
Absolutely genius choice in VP.