US:WHEN SARAH Palin appeared with John McCain in Dayton, Ohio yesterday as the Republican's vice-presidential running mate, she was such a stranger to the national stage that many political commentators were unsure how to pronounce her name (it's Pay-lin), writes Denis Staunton,Washington Correspondent.
After less than two years as governor of Alaska, Ms Palin could be a heartbeat away from the presidency in a few months - and as Democrats pointed out yesterday, Mr McCain's heart is 72 years old.
A committed anti-abortion activist and a strict fiscal conservative with a hawkish approach to foreign policy, Ms Palin appeals to every part of the Republican base and she is sure to receive an enthusiastic welcome at next week's national convention in St Paul.
Some Republicans fear, however, that Mr McCain has taken a dangerous risk in choosing a woman who, until two years ago, was earning $68,000 a year as mayor of Wasilla, an Alaskan city of fewer than 9,000 people.
Born in Idaho in 1964, Ms Palin moved to Alaska as a child, becoming an accomplished basketball player, known on the court as "Sarah Barracuda", and a local beauty queen. She was Miss Wasilla in 1984 and runner-up to Miss Alaska the same year.
After taking a journalism degree at the University of Idaho, Ms Palin returned to Alaska, working in her husband Todd's fishing business and doing occasional sports broadcasting. A mother of five, Ms Palin described herself as "a typical hockey mom", before involvement in the school's parent teacher association gave her a taste for public life.
She won a seat on the Wasilla City Council in 1992, becoming mayor four years later. A keen hunter and a lifelong member of the National Rifle Association, Ms Palin cultivated a down-to-earth, outdoors image.
By the early part of this decade, Ms Palin was developing a state-wide reputation in Alaska, campaigning against corruption in her own party and opposing pork-barrel projects while confronting the powerful oil and gas industry.
In 2006, she defeated incumbent governor Frank Murkowski in the Republican primary and went on to win the governorship. As governor, she has taxed oil company profits, but favours drilling in the Alaskan wildlife refuge.
On entering office, she sold the governor's plane and discharged the chef in the governor's mansion (she found him a new job) explaining that her children would not eat anything but the simplest home cooking. She remains hugely popular, with an 80 per cent approval rating in her state.
Last year, her eldest son joined the army when he turned 18 and he will be deployed to Iraq next month. In April, her youngest son, Trig, was born with Down syndrome.
"We've both been very vocal about being pro-life. We understand that every innocent life has wonderful potential," Ms Palin said, explaining that she and her husband never considered terminating the pregnancy when they heard about her son's condition.
She returned to work three days after giving birth, taking her baby to the governor's office.
Although she opposes gay marriage, she has gay friends and she favours extending some partnership rights to same-sex couples.
Democrats claimed yesterday to be thrilled by Mr McCain's choice of running mate, comparing Ms Palin to Dan Quayle, George Bush's running mate in 1988.
The Democrats' confidence could be misplaced, however, as Ms Palin's friends say she has benefited from being consistently underestimated. Besides, despite becoming the butt of a thousand jokes, Mr Quayle was elected vice-president in 1988.