John McCain may well have made the two most important decisions of the 2008 presidential race – naming Sarah Palin, Alaska’s conservative reformer governor as his vice presidential running mate, and re-focusing the Republican National Convention as a tool for rallying all Americans to the aid of their countrymen caught in the path of Hurricane Gustav. Those beads of cold sweat seen forming on the foreheads of Democratic leaders bespeak their terror at seeing the election they couldn’t possibly lose being torn from their grasp. Why, it’s enough to make some of them think God must not be on their side after all, contrary to the smug pronouncements of former Democratic National Committee Chairman Don Fowler and Democratic Agit-Prop Manager Michael Moore.

The significance of Palin’s selection – her unmarried daughter’s pregnancy notwithstanding – is captured in these comments at the convention by a GOP county chairman from a Mid-Atlantic state: “When Sarah Palin was announced, the approval was instantaneous. People who were not enthusiastic about McCain are now saying what a genius he is for choosing Palin. Best of all, delegates from Blue States now think they have a chance to win in their state.” Unlike the other three members of the respective presidential tickets – all of whom are members of the most unpopular Congress in living memory – Palin is a fresh face who took on and beat one of America’s most corrupt state political establishments. The nickname “Sarah Barracuda” came from Palin’s aggressive play on a state championship-winning high school basketball team, but the earmark-obsessed Ted Stevens/Don Young dominated Alaska GOP can attest that she goes after opponents as sharply as ever. Barack Obama and Joe Biden would be well-advised to tread carefully here.