McCain hits grand slam with Palin

And the hits just keep on comin' . . .

The McCain campaign has kicked it up several notches ever since they hired Arnold Schwartznegger's campaign manager. Better anticipation, better response and better advertising, better timed--all have kicked in since Steve Schmidt took over.

So it was no surprise today when McCain kicked Obama and Biden off the front pages and the TV newscasts with the selection of Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin as his running mate. It was such a shock to the mass media, who have been ignoring her obvious assets for months, that they barely knew how to respond.

She is only 44, three years younger than Obama, an excellent and engaging speaker and has over twice as many years in public office as he has. She also has been a success in private business--and of course, Obama has yet to earn his first private enterprise dollar. She is pro-life, a lifetime member of the National Rifle Assn., a crack shot, a hunter and fisherman.

In fact, she and her husband haven't talked the talk in being pro-life, but knowing that their fifth child would have Downs Syndrome, they allowed him to be born and he is an honored member of their family. She said something about honoring God's Creation--what a novel concept!

As Governor, when rising oil prices gave the state a big surplus, they gave it back to the taxpayers. She overturned the Bridge to Nowhere, refusing the federal money. She signed into law a stringent anti-corruption law, full of public disclosure requirements for public officeholders.

She is highly intelligent and a breath of fresh air. The libs will quickly find that she is tough, quick witted and nimble. She is more than up to the task, including winning the televised debate with Joe Biden.

John McCain has shuffled the deck, and changed the whole dynamic. Which is the campaign of change now? The one with the 36-year insider U.S. Senator for veep, or the one with the youthful female outsider reformer?