McCain, by his own admission, is not an exciting speaker nor does he have the full support of his party. He needed to interject some excitement into his campaign while appealing to his conservative base. He needed a rock star as captivating as his opponent Barack Obama. The Arizona Senator got both the support of his party as well as some enthusiasm for his run by choosing Alaska Governor Sarah Palin as his veep choice. However, he passed up a bevy of qualified veep choices including, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty, former Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Ridge, Democrat-turned-independent Joe Lieberman of Connecticut and Gen. David Petraeus. While he says he chose Palin based on her experience in making executive decisions, any of the Governors on his short list would have offered the same, if not more, experience. Before you cast a ballot based on gender, let’s look at her record and some of the issues.

When McCain announced his choice, it energized the GOP base and gained some support from independents, but the margin is narrow. According to a recent pole, after Palin’s acceptance speech on Wednesday September 3, 50 percent of voters said they had a favorable impression of the Alaska Governor. On the other hand, only 42 percent thought she had the necessary experience to step into the Presidential role.

Palin, who is 44 years old, has been the Governor of Alaska since 2006. Prior to that, she was a mayor of a small town – 8000 people – which gives her more executive decision making experience than the Democratic ticket. Dems were quick to point out that governing a small state and even smaller state is vastly different than governing the country.

Obama was then forced to go on defense and did so on September 6th. At the Wabash Valley Fairgrounds in Terre Haute, Ind. Obama critisized Palin for saying she opposes earmarks when she has taken many as governor of Alaska. He went on to point out that Palin originally supported earmarks for the Alaska project which was dubed “the bridge to nowhere” before her state’s cost of the project increased. He was then forced to defend a statement he made on September 10 when the McCain camp called Obama’s “lipstick on a pig” comment a direct attack on Palin. Pundits are pointing out the Barak Obama needs to get back on the message of the economy and McCain’s connection to Bush policies and not engage in Palin attacks.

So in the aftermath of a difficult (to say the least) week on Wall Street, the attention of the campaign has been turned to the economy and away from the Sarah Palin phenomenon. The question is, how long will that last? In recent history, elections have hinged more upon personal characteristics and likability. If this holds true, Palin could be McCain's ace in the hole.

Tony Engelhart is a featured writer for Xomba.com. Read the rest of his work here .