The wisdom or error in selecting Palin will be determined later, when the public gets to know her, hears her speak and debate, and the mad-dog, in-the-tank press goes after every detail in her bio. She will have a very thin margin of error as far as gaffes go, in as much as the Quayle syndrome will be quickly invoked at the slightest slip.

But in political terms today, right now, one can appreciate the political brilliance of her appointment, which — given Obama's doctrinaire liberal laundry-list speech — turns the attention to the McCain camp and will hinder the Democratic convention bounce.

1. The pick appeals to the Hillary independent voter and forces Obama to go easy, since he doesn't want both a primary and general election in which liberal women thought he and his MSNBC media henchmen took the sexist, mean-spirited low road. Given McCain's 72 years, women will realize that the role and future of this VP is no token appointment.

2. Conservatives and the base will be OK with both her positions and her life narrative; no defections as threatened with a Lieberman pick.

3. On energy, she will either blunt McCain's unreasonable opposition to ANWR, or, in fact — as an Alaskan pro-driller — give him the opening necessary to "evolve" on the issue into a support for drilling there.

4. In a Zen way it raises the inexperience issue, inviting Obama to critique a fresh VP as "inexperienced" and thereby automatically turn the same scrutiny to his as-thin-or-even-thinner resume for the more important job.

5. McCain can keep running those Biden-attacking-Obama ads, with little worry that he would get the same back had he nominated a primary rival with a Biden-like campaign trail.

6. One governor, even with brief executive experience, still contrasts with three Senate legislators in the race.

7. Obama's "change" mantra and sermons on Washington insiders are suddenly null and void due to both VP picks: McCain went for an outsider, Obama went for the classical uber-insider.

8. As any one who has met her can attest, Palin has a charismatic presence and winning personality that could help whittle away at Obamania.

9. Much of the arsenal of the left-wing critique of the last eight hate-Bush years is starting to evaporate. Both McCain and Palin have or will have sons in Iraq; both are not easily identified as hard-core insensitive Republicans; McCain's eroding maverick status is rejuvenated with this running-mate pick.

10. Let us hope that energy now becomes the key issue. Given Obama's sorta-sorta-not references to gas, nuclear, and coal — and not much about drilling, McCain-Palin can really hit hard on natural gas, oil, nuclear, and coal as the perfect U.S.-dominated, at-home transition to alternative fuels that save the treasury and our national security — all much more appealing than Obama's quixotic windmill and solar-panel melodramas.

For today, the timing and choice were inspired; now we await how Gov. Palin fares when the "new," "transcendent" — and vicious — leftwing political attacks come.

by Victor Davis Hanson