More thoughts on Sarah Palin:

John McCain must have been cognizant of the stark contrast between Joe Biden, Barack Obama's Veep choice, and his own selection. Biden has done nothing since he was in his 20s other than sit in the Senate. He is a caricature of the worst sort of Washington politician, a person of limited ability who is intimately tied in to various interests and lobbyists and who, in more than three decades, has done nothing to improve the way Washington works or to contribute creatively to any public policy issue. Biden is a Washington insider in the worst sense of the word.

In a national context Sarah Palin would have been an outsider, to an extraordinary degree, had she been a conventional governor of Alaska, our most exotic state. In fact, though, she is an outsider even in Alaska politics. She is from the Matanuska Valley, a place where I have spent quite a bit of time. It is only an hour or so from Anchorage, but the Valley is often regarded by Anchorage folk as an embarrassing outback. Its residents, some of whom live on a subsistence basis, tend to be regarded with suspicion.

So Palin was an upstart in every possible way when she challenged Frank Murkowski, the former Senator and entrenched Republican Governor who, among other things, appointed his daughter Lisa to succeed him in the Senate. Palin was opposed by the entire Republican establishment in Alaska, including Senator Ted Stevens--after whom the Anchorage airport is named--and Congressman Don Young. Notwithstanding the hostility of her party's elder statesmen, Palin defeated Murkowski in the primary. She then faced the popular former Democratic Governor Tony Knowles in the general election. In what would have been considered an extraordinary upset just a few months earlier, Palin trounced Knowles, despite reported efforts by her own party's leaders to defeat her. As Governor, she has enjoyed approval ratings in the 80s.

So it is hard to imagine a more complete outsider, in terms of national politics, than Sarah Palin. She ran and was elected as a reformer, has governed successfully as such, and owes nothing whatever to anyone in Washington. Personally, I'm not as anti-Washington as many conservatives, but it would be just about unAmerican not to root for a rebel and outsider like Palin.

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In a relatively short time, Google Images has become a huge source of internet traffic. A substantial percentage of our traffic comes from Google searches, and a rapidly growing segment of that comes from image searches. I was reminded of this once more when I checked the numbers and found that over the past 12 hours, nearly 18,000 people have found their way to Power Line by searching "Sarah Palin" and linking to the "Miss Wasilla" photo that you can see below.

Over the years, we have also gotten an astonishing number of hits from people doing Google Images searches who link to this post, and this one. Beyond that, various Miss World and Miss Universe posts have garnered large numbers of Google Images referrals.

It's never occurred to us to post photos to troll for Google Images, but it may be something to consider.

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Like John and Paul, I was disappointed when I heard this morning that Senator McCain had called on Sarah Palin to be his running mate. I was disappointed mostly because I thought that Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty was the right man for the job.

Watching Governor Pawlenty up close over the last 10 years or so, I was impressed by his personal story and likability. Tim is virtually impossible to dislike. Even those who disagree with him politically don't hate him. He has the kind of political skills that are in short supply on the Republican side, which is one of the reasons that McCain's short list was so short so long. Governor Palin's short resume also tends to undercut one part of the case against Obama.

Watching the announcement of Governor Palin's naming in Dayton, it strikes me that she may have the same kind of likability in her favor as Governor Pawlenty. Her personal story is compelling and she comes across as an authentic person. Standing next to John McCain on stage, Governor Palin looks like Mattie Ross to McCain's Rooster Cogburn. They could make a good team.

Judging by our email, Governor Palin's selection has electrified conservatives. I think this is in part because of the way she is living out the prolife credo. She sets a powerful and inspiring example. In part the excitement also derives from her stands against the corruption that has tarnished the Republican Party. It seemed unlikely that McCain's vice presidential selection would at the same time excite party regulars and serve to attract independents, but it may well do so. Anyway, here's hoping.

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Paul and I have already voiced our concerns about John McCain's selection of Sarah Palin for Vice-President. Now it's time to look at the upside. In fact, there is a lot to like about Palin. To begin with, her nomination provoked a typically mean-spirited reaction from the Obama campaign:

Today, John McCain put the former mayor of a town of 9,000 with zero foreign policy experience a heartbeat away from the presidency.

Of course, "zero foreign policy experience" describes Obama, too, unless giving ill-informed campaign speeches constitutes "experience." So maybe, in the end, Palin will highlight Obama's lack of qualifications rather than undermining McCain's critique of them. Maybe.

Then, too, Palin's selection was probably the only one that could drive Obama's speech last night off the front pages. Just in time, perhaps, as the Obama bounce is now up to 8 points if you believe Gallup. (That tends to support the conclusion that Obama is an effective demagogue.)

Palin could help McCain with several demographics, like the pageant community. Here she is as Miss Wasilla 1984:

News reports indicate that the crowd in Dayton, Ohio responded enthusiastically to references to Palin as an athlete. She was the point guard on a state champion basketball team:

I think McCain has pretty much got the hunter/fisherman demographic sewn up, but Palin will certainly be a plus there, too:

She is a big supporter of the troops, and her oldest son is headed for Iraq:

I like this one; Palin is the one with the gun. Unlike Michael Dukakis, she actually knows how to fire it:

I think voters will like the whole Palin family. Her husband Todd is a commercial fisherman and also works in oil production on the North Slope. I think this photo is of Sarah working on the family's fishing boat; I'm told that as Governor, she still does that on weekends:

Todd Palin is a union member and a world-class snowmobile racer; here they are at a race:

A lot of voters are going to find this image appealing. I certainly do. In general, Palin's strengths seem to reinforce McCain's, but she could help a bit with blue-collar voters.

Substantively, Palin is a legitimate reformer. She killed the "bridge to nowhere," which is probably the only pork project most voters have heard of. She is a solid conservative and, perhaps best of all, she is an expert on energy and a staunch advocate of drilling. A large majority of Alaskans want develop ANWR; one hopes that Palin can change McCain's mind on that part of the energy issue.

I, for one, am very tired of hearing Democrats say that we can't drill ourselves out of our energy shortage. We could, actually, but since when is that the standard? Wharton Econometrics Forecasting Associates estimates that developing ANWR petroleum alone could create 736,000 American jobs. How about if we stop outsourcing our energy production and drill ourselves a few million great, high-paying jobs? The energy issue is a huge winner for the Republicans, and Palin should be able to help make the case, especially if McCain comes around on Alaska oil.

A favorite mainstream media trick is to begin the description of any Republican or conservative by reciting his or her opposition to abortion and gay marriage, as though these were that person's signature issues. I've seen that done already with Palin. By now, everyone knows that her youngest child, an infant, has Down syndrome. Palin's commitment to her pro-life principles has made her popular with social conservatives--again, not a group that McCain particularly needs help with--and respected by some moderates, too.

McCain may have selected Palin in part to appeal to disaffected Hillary Clinton supporters; if so, I'm not sure there are a lot of votes there to be had. But Palin may well be a plus with more moderate women. Ann Althouse, a classic swing voter, I think, is very excited about the pick, and it seems that many women share that sentiment.

So, while it's hard to argue that Sarah Palin was the most qualified of the candidates McCain had to choose from, she is obviously a bold choice and one that may turn out to pay dividends.

PAUL adds: A friend who is toiling at the convention on one of the committees reports that Palin's selection was greeted by "thunderous applause and a standing ovation." (The reaction from Alaskans at the convention apparently is more mixed -- a sign that she's been a genuine reformer there).

Thus, Bill Otis may well be right when he says:

She's going to bring some excitement to our people that McCain couldn't and wouldn't get by himself. A campaign needs foot soldiers, call makers, [and] envelope stuffers. Our people have been glum for months. The reason contributions were way down is that enthusiasm was way down. Palin will perk it up.

McCain apparently was trying for two-fer: someone who can energize the base but who also has cross-over appeal -- not to hard core Hillary supporters, but to moderate voters, especially females. There were few, if any, other prospective nominees who offered this sort of possibility.

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I'm very disappointed that John McCain would put someone as inexperienced and lacking in foreign policy and national security background as Sarah Palin a heartbeat away from the presidency.

UPDATE: During lunch, I saw Palin's speech. She looks great on the stump and speaks very well. Her husband, it turns out, is a member of the Steelworkers Union, and looks like he was sent by central casting.

Palin praised Geraldine Ferraro and Hillary Clinton for blazing the trail. She agreed that Hillary had put 18,000,000 cracks in the glass ceiling. She then added, "it turns out women aren't finished yet."

Sadly, but not surprisingly, identity politics has run amok in this country. In my view, Palin wouldn't have been seriously considered for vice president but for her gender. But at least she appears to be a very substantial person with real potential for high office.

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I've suspected for a while that Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty would be John McCain's choice for VP, but it's not to be. Pawlenty told a local radio station this morning that he's heading for the Minnesota State Fair, not Dayton, Ohio. "You can draw your own conclusions," he added.

Meanwhile, CNN is reporting that Sarah Palin flew from Anchorage to Dayton last night. If that's right, it looks like she's the choice. More on that later.

UPDATE: OK, it's later. I'm worried about Palin. I'm afraid she may be the Geraldine Ferraro of 2008. If she really is the nominee, will it come across as a desperation move, a Hail Mary, as Mondale's choice of Ferraro did in 1984? I'm afraid so. Her experience just doesn't justify a place on the ticket. If McCain really wanted to go radical, Bobby Jindal was the far sounder choice--but maybe Jindal turned him down, on the theory that he needs to do his job as Governor of Louisiana before trying to go national.

On the bright side, Mitt Romney reportedly is in Dayton too, so maybe he's the Veep pick and Palin is just there to introduce him. Or something like that.

ONE MORE: The AP says the McCain camp "hopes the announcement of his running mate will stunt any momentum that Democratic rival Barack Obama might get from the just concluded Democratic National Convention." If it really is Palin, I'm afraid the opposite will happen. Press reaction will be 100% negative; the emphasis will all be on Palin's inexperience--she's been Governor of Alaska for less than two years--and the fallout will augment, not limit, Obama's convention bounce. The most important thing McCain has going for him in this race is the perception that he is the serious candidate. Choosing a running mate who will be widely perceived as unqualified would go a long way toward squandering that advantage.

Don't get me wrong: I like Sarah Palin, from what little I know of her, and I'd much rather have her as President than Barack Obama. What we're talking here is politics. If McCain loses the election, it's all for naught.

PAUL adds: I agree with John, and it's not just politics. I don't want to prejudge Palin, but she's going to have to persuade me she's qualified for the presidency, and this won't be easy. I hope we're witnessing the kind of misdirection that promised us Edith Clement and delivered John Roberts. Not that we have a Roberts for this office.

On the other hand, my friend Bill Otis, who is at least as old school as I am and usually more astute, writes:

If she's the pick, it's a stroke of genius. It will rally the base and have some level of appeal to women, who at this point must be feeling a little left out of things. You once remarked to me -- in pre-Monica days -- that Clinton "discovered women" [as a political force]. I think the Dems have somewhat undiscovered them, or have come to take them for granted, and if McCain can now make the discovery they've left on the wayside, it's all to the good.

Of course we aren't going to get the feminist vote, but Palin will help with working women and suburban soccer moms. If McCain winds up winning, which I now give him a roughly 50% chance of doing, selecting a woman will get some of the credit, and deservedly so.

Palin will need tutoring against Biden, however. He can pack more lies into one sentence than anyone since Slick Willy -- indeed even more, since the sentences are longer.

UPDATE: It's official.

FURTHER UPDATE: For a more positive assessment, go here.

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