Senator John McCain celebrated his 72nd birthday and did his best to mute the euphoria from Barack Obama's acceptance speech the night before by announcing Governor Sarah Palin of Alaska as his vice-presidential running mate.
The immediate response from media, the public and even Republicans was ''Sarah who?''. Even the doyenne of Republican Members of Congress, Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison (arguably the most qualified Republican woman for consideration as a running mate, but presumably dismissed because of her age) was forced to admit in a television interview soon after the announcement that she did not really know a lot about Governor Palin.
As an aside, this says something about the lack of attention to detail from the McCain campaign, when a key spokeswoman was not provided with timely briefing notes.
As the initial blank slate that is currently Sarah Palin is filled in with her life story, her political abilities and her governing expertise and the old quotes, voting records and skeletons (if any) are dragged out from the past into the public arena, the American people will get to know the 44-year-old mother of five and make up their minds about what she adds to the Republican ticket.
The immediate facts to hand are that she has been the Governor of Alaska for 20 months, and was previously mayor of Wasilla, a town of less than 7000 people near Anchorage. She is anti-abortion (in contrast to McCain's pro-choice stand), pro-guns, a keen hunter and shooter and a member of the National Rifle Association, and she has long been a vocal proponent of opening up the Alaskan National Wildlife Refuge to further oil drilling, a, issue on which McCain is much more cautious.
It can be argued that, like his Democrat opponent Obama, McCain has also made a bold choice of running mate. However whereas Obama went for expertise and experience and someone who could be a partner in governing the country, McCain has made his choice based on political currency rather than the ability to lead. Governor Palin is the first woman to be on a Republican presidential ticket, and the first woman run for vice-president since Geraldine Ferraro ran with Walter Mondale in 1984. A young mother breaking through this glass ceiling offsets to some extent the uniqueness of Obama's candidacy and will appeal to many conservative women who can identify with Palin as a ''hockey mum'' (as in ice hockey).
Just how many disaffected Hillary Clinton supporters would be attracted to her conservative stance and switch votes is hard to know, but the numbers are likely to be small.
On the other hand, will Palin have enough pull to attract back and galvanise the so-called Reagan Republicans who have not been enthusiastic about McCain and some of his idiosyncratic positions?
It is likely that most of the political movement and colour will now be around energy policy, on both sides.
The media release from the McCain campaign announcing Palin's candidacy for VP was upfront about the importance of Alaska as an energy-rich state. And Obama whose acceptance speech made the bold promise that an Obama Administration would end the US dependence on foreign oil within a decade has seen this too.
Now the Republican VP might have to step back from her enthusiasm earlier this month from Obama's energy policy. In a press release she praised Obama for, among other things, calling for the completion of the Alaska natural gas pipeline and proposing $1000 rebates for families struggling with energy costs.
In the longer run, however, what both McCain and Palin must do is to reassure their potential supporters that her lack of experience, especially in areas such as foreign policy and defence, is not a disadvantage for one who every day will be only a heart beat away from the presidency. And that necessity will certainly ease the Republican pressure on Obama on this issue.
Dr Russell is the Menzies Foundation Fellow at the Menzies Centre for Health Policy, University of Sydney/Australian National University. She served on the staff of the Committee on Energy and Commerce, US House of Representatives, from 1984-1991.