Over the past few hours, the reaction regarding Sen. McCain’s choice has been nothing short of amazing. Everyone I have spoken with is now downright excited about the election. Imagine what the reaction would have been had the choice been Sen. Lieberman or someone along those lines?

Without getting into the complete political analysis regarding the choice, I think the best way to illustrate the impact is by describing a conversation I had in the past hour. A secretary I recently spoke with was unaware of the news.

She asked me who Sen. McCain had chosen. My political curiosity quickly kicked in. Having had several conversations with this woman recently, I was aware that she was not overly political. I wanted to quickly assess what her reaction was so I just told her to look it up online. Now I might be over analyzing this, but a close reading of the words she chose to describe the pick are telling of what Gov. Palin’s place on the ticket could do to the dynamics of this election.

She started out by simply stating “wow” (i.e. surprise), she then described the choice as “amazing” (really one of the best ways to describe it in light of the fact that there has only been one other female on a presidential ticket in this nation’s history, and I’m not sure how legitimate the ’84 ticket was), she then moved to describing the pick as “interesting” (i.e. maybe I can vote for this McCain guy), finally she described it as “exciting” (i.e. with Gov. Palin on the ticket, there is now a dynamic element to counter Obama).

Now, maybe the parentheticals are a bit over the top, but I think you get the point. This sort of thought process is probably taking place in the minds of many independent minded voters.

In addition, the Gov. Palin choice energizes the conservative base. As a true conservative reformer, Gov. Palin will add a unique voice to the ongoing debate over the direction of this country. She is a fiscal and social conservative who has had a “front seat” to the ongoing energy debate.

Noemie Emery from the Weekly Standard has a great list of of 14 things “Palin Does” for the ticket. Check it out: http://www.weeklystandard.com/Content/Public/Articles/000/000/015/482nfeqo.asp

-Jake