McCain's Palin pick is certainly successful at focusing attention on her and away from the Democratic Convention and Obama which have completly dominated the US news cycle for the past four days. Unlike Obama's VP Joe Biden, Palin has a very "new and interesting" appeal to the media, though I remain skeptical that Hillary Clinton supporters are likely to change their party allegiances to vote for somebody who is even more conservative than McCain.
Alaska Governor - Sarah Palin's official web site
Sarah Palin - Wikipedia, the free encyclopediaAlaska Governor Bio - Sarah Palin
Sarah Palin Profile by Fred Barnes at Weekly Standard in 2007. Barnes is a conservative pundit who speaks for many Republicans in the conservative wing of the party, and may have been a significant influence in McCain's decision.
Palin at Politico (a critical Palin piece)
Palin at Huffington Post (critical)