[NavyCanDo]

It is an interesting thought. Something did happen the day McCain picked her. It's hard to explain what. But up until that point there was very little enthusiasm about the election from Conservatives. By the time she gave her convention speech she was larger than life. Remember her TV audience that night was larger than McCain's or Obama’s big nights. I don't think that has ever happened where the VP candidate drew more attention.

[Liberty Valance]

"I don't think that has ever happened where the VP candidate drew more attention."

September '08 ~ New York City
NYT photo

[dsc]

“Something did happen the day McCain picked her. It’s hard to explain what.”

Could it be that she was a genuine conservative and a decent person, and so many of us had given up on ever getting an acceptable candidate out of the Stupid Party ever again?

[hinckley buzzard]

And the campaign harvested ten million dollars in contributions over the next weekend. Name the last VP candidate who did that for their campaign.

[onyx]

You and MEG33, cherry, dsc and Hinckley Buzzard and others are all correct.

Sarah was like no other VP candidate in history.

She became the star of campaign instantly and it’s a real shame the top of the ticket didn’t listen to her or make make use of her God given talents.

Fortunately, she’s her own Sarah now, and like Michele Bachmann said, “the world is her oyster.”

God bless and protect Sarah Palin and her precious family.

[truthfreedom]

Before McCain made his pick of Palin, many conservatives, myself included, said the only way I’d vote for McCain was if he picked Sarah Palin. That was Free Republic wanted, if there was any clear choice.

Sarah Palin wasn’t unknown around here. When he picked her, we knew her already and were psyched. I was waiting in line when the polls opened and proudly voted for Sarah Palin.
A lot of people here will say the same thing.

[Terpfen]

Remember her TV audience that night was larger than McCain's or Obama’s big nights.

Because she was brand new to the country. No one knew who she was, so they tuned in to find out. Nothing mysterious about that.

[frposty]

“something did happen the day McCain picked her”

She’s just an extraordinary person. Ralph Waldo Emerson says history is changed by single extraordinary people.

[Personal Responsibility]

Something did happen the day McCain picked her. It's hard to explain what.

What happened? The percentage of actual Conservatives in the Republican party all of a sudden had a reason to pay attention. There was someone on the national stage who was not afraid to be Conservative. It'd been a long time since we've seen that.

Once the election ended, alternative outlets (like FR and the blogs) and social media like Facebook and Twitter kept her message in the spotlight. This is a shining example of the way new media has altered politics as usual.

[taxcontrol]

It is a flip of the conventional wisdom. The political game previously said that you have to compromise your position to win over swing voters.

The new wisdom which has not been accepted by everyone, is that the party with the motivated base wins.