With both the Democratic and Republican National Conventions done, it’s back to business as usual on the campaign trail.  One of the biggest stories to come out of the conventions though is who John McCain chose as his running mate, Alaskan Governor Sarah Palin.

                Palin has no experience in Washington and was mayor of a small town in Alaska before becoming Governor of Alaska in 2006, so it came as a huge shock when John McCain announced that he chose her to be his running mate.

                “I think Palin is a great choice, she can hold her own,” commented 20 year old Lindsay Sparks, who is still undecided about who she will vote for come November. “She is a great choice that brings a lot to the table and can help McCain.”

 “I actually think it’s a good move on his part,” said 20 year old Darrald Marshall, supporter of John McCain. “I think that it’s good that she hasn’t been corrupted by Washington. It’s good to have some fresh blood in there.”

                Not everyone is as happy to see “fresh blood” though. With McCain having run attack after attack against Obama for lacking experience and the know-how of the way things run in Washington many people have seen his choice of Palin as hypocritical.

“I think that McCain choosing Sarah Palin just goes to show how desperate he really is,” laughed 17 year old democrat Ethan Langston. “It’s like he is trying to win over the Hillary supporters by choosing a female running mate even though she has ZERO experience and absolutely no know-how of the ways things run in Washington. He made himself look really bad with this choice.”

“I don’t think that he should have bashed Obama and then turned around and chose someone who had no experience but in the end if he felt she was the best choice then I’m happy with that,” said Lindsay Sparks.

Not only has the lack of experience been a topic of discussion about Palin but matters in her personal life have lead many to wonder if she is in a position to be second in command of our country.

Another issue that has started to come to light in recent weeks is whether or not Palin is being held to the same standard that Hillary Clinton was in regards to being a woman. Many people felt that Hillary was treated unfairly because she was a woman and now that Palin has joined the race she isn’t receiving the same sexist attitudes that Clinton did.

It seems as if people just can’t get enough of Sarah Palin either with everyone from SNL to our very own Street Teamer/Comedian Sarah Benincasa doing parodies of her. Call it mean, but with everything from rumors of her banning books when she was mayor, to her comments about “…our next door neighbors and you can actually see Russia from land here in Alaska…” everyone seems to want a piece of the Palin Parody Pie.

The choice of Sarah Palin is one that has definitely shaken up the campaign and given a much needed boost to the McCain camp, the only question now is whether or not that high will stay with them through the election.