Sarah Palin

I've been watching with some amusement the near-hysterical exultation/relief that has swept the conservative blogosphere at McCain's choice of running mate.
Having studied up on her bio - like a ton of others yesterday who had never heard of her before - I have to say I like what I see.
There's no doubt that in Sarah Palin, McCain has made an excellent choice, and has made himself much more palatable to those of us on the right, as well as stuffing the whole identity politics thing right back down the Dems' throat.
I have heard that the VP choice of a candidate has little effect on the outcome of presidential elections, but choosing Governor Palin will certainly help settle the conservative base I suppose.
I think we tend to overlook, however, just how much power a president really has - they cannot by themselves institute broad, sweeping changes (which is how it ought to be) - and the impact they will have is often overstated during the run for president. It's still a democracy, with three branches of government - we're not selecting a king.
On that note, the VP has even less impact on the governance of the country. Dems are crowing about Palin's question the other night, "what does a vice-president actually do?" as though its a sign of her inexperience. I think it's a legitimate question, and shows that she knows that not much is expected or required of a VP, that the office of VP is in many ways more overstated than that of president. It's essentially a preparation for the presidency, and thus far I think she would do well in the top spot. I think Governor Palin has an exciting future ahead of her.