While we will all be critical of McCain's VP pick (we are here for a reason afterall), we must admit that McCain has won this round with the timing/surprise of the pick, as watching the various news channels/websites, one can hardly find mention of Obama's historic acceptance speech last night.
Obama's speech was a masterful acceptance speech, delivered with a perfection that even topped his usual campaign speeches and yet the vast majority of Americans will have no idea about it and will instead spend their evenings being introduced to Alaska's Hot Mom Governor (TM).
The pick itself is questionable, as she is a relatively unknown in the world of national politics and has very little experience in office. My guess is that her role in the campaign will be to soften McCain's image, try to attract women voters, and to look really hot. We shall see if this ruse works, but as for the introduction, this was political mastery.