Her politics are small-L libertarian and her life is all lunch pail American. There are pictures of her hunting deer, shooting an M4 (on a visit with Alaskan troops in Kuwait), she says nuke-U-lar, and if I was a betting man I'd say she bowls too. Her husband is a union steelworker who has racked up some snow mobiling championships in his spare time. I would find her hard to dislike even if she had hard left politics. Unfortunately for Obama the lunch pail dems - who are not liberals - have a lot more to identify with in Palin than Obama or Biden (or McCain!).

Likability isn't everything, as Obama has found out. I admit that I twitched when I read that she has a baby (her fifth). I understand that her husband can take care of the child - my brother is a stay at home dad to my Godson - but that cringe reflex is a powerful thing especially when confronting "likable."

If nothing else this VP pick will be much more interesting for the media, comedians (she has an accent out of "Fargo"), and political junkies. Mitt Romney would have been a safe pick that didn't change the election narrative at all.

PS, if you don't know her politics: she is a gunny, favors small government, and she had that baby despite knowing that it would have Downs Syndrome - pro-life not just in theory but in practice.