REPUBLICAN MATES: Vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin talks with presidential nominee
John McCain at the Republican National Convention on September 3

She said that Palin was a "political choice" for McCain in an effort to attract religious conservatives in the Republican Party and win over women voters. "The announcement created excitement, anticipation and a sense that something new was happening," she said.

From the time Palin was named as McCain's running mate, "the Republican Convention came to life," she added.

The four-day Republican National Convention, which was curtailed in response to Hurricane Gustav, gave the McCain-Palin ticket a substantial boost in the polls, even bigger than the one Democrats received after their convention last month.

Based on interviews held September 6-8, Gallup Poll Daily tracking figures showed McCain leading Obama 49 percent to 44 percent among registered voters nationwide.

The selection of Palin and her speech at the convention "certainly could be hypothesized to have added a little extra energy to standard convention bounce," said the U.S. opinion polling organization.

Now the question is not whether Palin is a good choice but how far the McCain-Palin team can go.

Reformist mantle

Palin brings considerable strengths to the Republican ticket. As the youngest person and first woman to be elected governor of Alaska, Palin was dubbed by the media a "conservative maverick." She strongly opposes wasteful government spending and tax increases. She is pro-life and pro-gun and determined to fight corruption even within her own party.

Casting herself as a Washington outsider, Palin also reinforces the "reform" message in McCain's campaign. But McCain needs to explain to voters how he intends to transform politics-as-usual without losing party support.