Sarah Palin

The game has changed. In an election of McCain vs. Obama, the race was all about Obama. Not anymore.

Win or lose, picking Sarah Palin will go down as the greatest single thing McCain has done for his own campaign, as well as for the conservative movement. Conservatives are rallying like never before to her presence on the ticket.

She's a fiscal conservative who favors tax cuts and has actually used a veto pen. She's a born-again Christian, pro-life, pro-family, pro-gun... she hunts, she fishes, baits her own hook, has five kids and doesn't look like a member of the NOW gang. What's not to like? Indeed, that, plus a record of conservative reform and demonstrated political skills on the stump and I'd say we've got ourselves a star. And at age 44, one with a potentially long future at that.