Palin is the down payment
One of the most important things about Sarah Palin is that in selecting her, McCain has made a good faith gesture to conservatives. In exchange for our votes, McCain has potentially given us the future of the party, and possibly the future majority.
I think Palin represents, to many of us on the right, the practicality and flexibility of tradition in the modern era. She's a mom. She's straightforward. She's rustic. In Sarah Palin we see someone who rises to prominence not just from traditional rural origins but from a traditional rural present. It's inspiring because she provides respite from the constant media drumbeat that emerges from New York, Washington and Los Angeles. Just as Obama is so appealing to those on the left because he's different, Palin is likewise something fresh. She plays by the old rules.
It's no accident that Republic Party 'elites' are frustrated by the selection of Palin - she's a threat to them. Many Republicans have wearied of seeing Democrat-style political machines crop up among county GOPs in the sprawl outside cities. And after her demolition of the Murkowski machine in Alaska, Palin offers a grassroots alternative to the boss system.
The lefties are fixated on Obama's character and transcendence. He did his time performing progressive activist work in Chicago's urban core, and lefties consider this important because it validates the time they've put in as activists. They consider their consciousness (and thus their moral worth) to be raised by virtue of their activism. (Because, apparently, the world can never have too many people singing 'Kumbaya'.)
Oddly, those same lefties can't see that Palin's life story validates many conservatives, women and people who live past the suburban fringe. She's raised a family, held tough jobs and stood up to city hall and said "No more!" She's led a steady, inspiring life and we respect her for it.
Palin has a had a brief but notably successful turn as Alaska governor. McCain knows that he needs to pay back conservatives for their support this fall and Sarah Palin is a good-faith deposit. She's an excellent choice and conservatives have accepted her as the down payment.
