US Republican presidential hopeful John McCain has finally energised his base with the pick of a socially conservative ticket mate, Alaska Governor Sarah Palin, but the question remains whether his shift to the right has lost him the centre.
The Arizona senator and war hero has cherished his reputation as a maverick willing to break with his party on critical issues.
But Senator McCain has made significant shifts to the right after his failed bid to win the party's nomination in 2000, something Democratic rival Barack Obama has used to paint him as being in lock-step with unpopular President George W.Bush.
Senator McCain has been criticised for proposing temporary tax cuts he initially opposed, hardening his views on immigration, gay marriage and abortion, and embracing evangelical leader Jerry Falwell, whom he once called an ''agent of intolerance''.
A senior fellow at the conservative Brookings Institute, Stephen Hess, said, ''He's doing what any politician trying to get elected from a major party has to do first assure his base is sound and then move on to get people who may for some reason or another be wavering.
Mr Hess said Senator McCain's shifts were merely aimed at bringing the senator closer to the Republican mainstream.
Several prominent leaders among the party's conservative wing who had publicly opposed Senator McCain were won over by his choice of Mrs Palin as his running mate. The self-described ''hockey mum'' is an avid hunter and evangelical who opposes abortion except in cases where a pregnancy threatens the life of the mother. She also believes creationism should be taught in schools.
''It was as if the whole Republican convention had started drinking Red Bull,'' Richard Land of the Southern Baptist Church said of the reaction to Mrs Palin's unveiling. But Mrs Palin was not the only concession: Senator McCain has allowed the party's conservative base to develop a party platform considered its most hardline in recent history.
Colorado delegate Kendal Unruh, who served on the party's platform committee, said, ''There is stronger language on border security, stronger language on the environment ... we were very, very strong on the pro-life stance on the current platform.''
But Mrs Palin best known nationally for challenging corruption in her own party was also selected with the hopes that she could help Senator McCain draw in independents and disgruntled supporters of Hillary Clinton's failed bid for the Democratic nomination.
Pew Research Centre assistant director Michael Dimock said, ''They're hoping he can achieve two things at once by embracing conservative positions on issues that motivate the base, but still have a leadership that's maverick. So many fewer Americans identify as Republicans today that the pressure is even more extreme for McCain to make that balance,'' he said.
He noted a recent poll found 51 per cent of Americans identified themselves as Democrats or independents who leaned towards the Democrats. The problem for Senator McCain is the social issues which drew many ''Reagan Democrats'' to the Republican Party are being superseded by economic concerns. AFP