[PBzeer]

An aspect overlooked in the above post, is how most of the MSM still think McCain picked Palin primarily for her gender and a supposed reach out to Hillary voters. Her gender though, was merely a fortunate plus in the choice.

The primary objective was to energize the GOP base, which had been not simply unenthused, but dormant almost to the point of clinical death. With Palin holding down his flank, McCain was able to make a more centerist appeal to independents. Add in Palin's reformer creds (whether wholly true or not, they are very plausible) and it allows McCain to portray himself as the real reformer.

In retrospect, the pick was not only audacious, it was a no-brainer. Especially when contrasted with Obama's pick. Which brings us to some very juicy speculation. Will Biden still be on the ticket a month from now?

Of course, there's only one person to replace him with, but will Hillary go for it? The twists in this question are purely Machelvanian. Would she take the chance of not running again until 2016, or prefer a head to head with a probable Palin bid in 2012? Or to put it more bluntly, would she give up her ambitions to get Obama elected?

Who knows if that scenerio will happen. It is though an interesting one in a campaign already full of surprises.