Sarah Palin changed the dynamic in the American election of 2008

Looking back, the nomination of Sarah Palin to be John McCain's Vice-Presidential candidate radically changed the dynamic of the American 2008 election. From Barack Obama being an almost automatic success, he now seemed likely to lose. This was at a time when the media outlets had all but inaugurated Barack Obama as president. The nomination of Sarah Palin excited American voters as much as Barack Obama had originally excited progressive voters. By early September 2008, he had disillusioned the progressives and middle-American voters had learned enough about him that Barack Obama was thrown on the defensive. The nomination of Joe Biden seemed safe enough, but compared to Sarah Palin, he seemed inept. Joe Biden had the affect on the election about like if the Republicans had nominated Tom Ridge as the Vice-Presidential nominee. It still seemed inevitable that the Democrats would win the House and Senate, but at the time, John McCain and Sarah Palin seemed destined to win.