"WOW!"

...That was all I could say last night after GOP VP nominee Sarah Palin's speech. I even got a phone call around 11:30 p.m. from a friend who typically does not get excited about politics who was blown away.

After a week of media and NOW bashing about her experience, her family, her ability to mother, TrooperGate, etc., she stood up and gave one of the most impressive political speeches in recent memory, especially as her first in front of a national audience. As Fred Barnes commented last night after the speech, "It’s a gift. She’s a natural. You can’t teach this." He is so right.

Palin is the "real deal" and win or lose this November, Conservatives who felt they had no one for the future saw their future last night. She is the first Top Ticket candidate that I can remember who not only attracts the extreme end of a party but also the middle. The Dems have to be distraught after what they saw last night. They continue to only respond with "another four years of Bush" and "she's inexperienced". She might be, but she has the same inexperience and charisma as Obama but without the aura of elitism.

We'll see what the polls say in the days and weeks to come, but I would be shocked if Palin doesn't provide the GOP ticket with a good size bump.