The choice of Sarah (let me check her name again) Palin is about as reactive as McCain could have gone. While his pick seems to have generated enthusiasm among the ultra-conservative evangelical "base" whose stranglehold on the Republican Party is apparently still around, it certainly won't move disenfranchised Hillary voters (if many still exist). Apart from gender, there isn't much that Palin and Clinton have in common (unless we learn that her hubby has a penchant for cigars, wink, wink). If anything, it will help push Hillary supporters closer to Obama/Biden because of her lack of experience and far right social stands. And it's doubtful undecided independent voters, who tend to be more moderate on social issues than Republicans and more conservative on economic policies than Democrats, will be attracted to this move to the right. With that said, McCain had to take a big gamble to try to counter the mounting enthusiasm for the Obama/Biden ticket...he had to react with a more exciting choice than Romney. Perhaps Palin will be impressive on the national scene (the expectation bar will be low for her in the VP debate) but with this roll of the dice , the odds of his running mate helping McCain toward victory seem slim to none.