I've been taking a fairly detached and analytical approach to this election, supporting McCain but with a healthy dose of "a pox on both their houses". This pick of Sarah Palin as his running-mate though honestly has me kind of excited.

She has a very interesting bio when you get into it. Bachelor's degree in journalism, former sports reporter and commercial fisherman. 5 children, one heading to Iraq next month, one born with Down's Syndrome in April. Her husband works for BP on the North Slope and when they eloped they recruited two random people from a retirement home to be their witnesses. She made her bones in Alaska as an ethics whistleblower, taking on her own party in doing so. And she's anti-pork-barrel-spending, having killed the Bridge To Nowhere.

She doubles up on McCain's already impressive Reform credentials and brings some youth to the ticket.

So, yeah, I'm kind of excited.