Here she is in her own words. And here's what the pundits are chattering about.

John Mcintyre in Real Clear Politics:

I think it is a superbly handled rollout and politically a brilliant pick.

Jonah Goldberg in The Corner:

Quick, and provisional bottom line:  The upside: She's the best of the dark horses because she's an exciting, exotic (yet heartlandish) female pick.  The base will love her. She's a true outsider and the only person in the race with serious executive experience. This will have to mean McCain's flipping on ANWR, which will make gas prices a central issue.

Downside: She may not be ready for primetime. The heartbeat-from-the-presidency issue is a real one. 

Chris Cillizza in The Fix:

In picking Palin, McCain is taking a calculated risk. She is totally unknown and untested on the national stage but also has impressive credentials in her short time in public life.

Michael Cooper and Elisabeth Bumiller in The New York Times:

The pick, confirmed by Republicans familiar with the decision, amounted to a roll of the dice, a gamble that an infusion of new leadership — and the novelty of the Republican party’s first female candidate for vice president — would more than compensate for the risk that Ms. Palin could undercut one of the McCain campaign’s central arguments, their claim that Mr. Obama is too inexperienced to be president.

Howard Wolfson in The Plank:

Yesterday I argued that picking a woman for veep would help re-establish McCain's reputation as a maverick. If the pick is indeed Sarah Palin you are going to have a lot of women voters wondering why Senator Obama didn't tap Senator Clinton as his running mate.

Greg Sargent in Talking Points Memo:

If McCain's entire campaign is premised on the idea that Obama lacks the commander-in-chief readiness for the presidency, how on earth can he possibly continue to make this argument when he's chosen Palin, who's been in high office only two years (half the time Obama has been a Senator) as a back-up commander in chief?

Andrew Sullivan in The Daily Dish:

What this means, it seems to me, is that McCain has decided he cannot win without Clinton Democrats, and this is his attempt to win them over. He has decided that he cannot win on the experience card, so he is trying to pick the change card.

The Wall Street Journal:

At a time when the Republican Party in Washington has become deeply unpopular, in part due to rampant Congressional corruption, Gov. Palin is seen as a symbolic antidote.

Joe Klein in Swampland:

In a weird, clever, way, Palin's inexperience serves to illuminate Obama's...and so Democrats, especially Joe Biden, would probably be wise to tread carefully here. The Republicans can easily make the argument that they got their ticket order rightside up--experience over a compelling new face--and the Democrats got their order upside down. They can make that argument...we'll see how it flies.

The Times