"The Right Choice" These were John McCain's words regarding Sarah Palin after her acceptance speech Wednesday night. While the GOP has been reenergized by the Palin nomination, trepidation hung around the fringes of the announcement. How would she perform? Was she ready for Prime Time? Palin left zero doubt that she is more than equal to the challenge and served to ignite the Republican Convention with an excitement not seen since the Reagan days.

The media were poised to pounce on her every misstep. They could be seen and heard prior to Wednesday evening's proceedings preparing to proclaim her a flop. In fact, they so seriously demeaned her, that anything other than a complete meltdown would have been seen as a moderate success. The Sarah Palin who addressed the crowd in St. Paul was such a far cry from the caricature the media had painted for us, I think that even they were taken aback. You could see the dismay painted across the news anchors face's after the speech as they uniformly proclaimed it a home run. (Supposedly) strong female network commentators looked as though women's voting rights had just been repealed. One would think that they would celebrate the ascension of such an amazing woman who had just given the speech of this political season. They expected her to fail and they were licking their chops to devour the remains. They were wrong! Palin knocked it out of the ballpark.

Political observers from both sides praised her charm, toughness, and grasp of the moment. She infused humor into her argument - even as she pointedly drove point after point into the heart of the Obama campaign. She displayed a grasp of international affairs - especially as it relates to energy policy. She introduced herself and her family to America. Most importantly, she lifted up John McCain - drawing clear distinctions between Senators McCain and Obama (and leaving little doubt which of them should be our next President). She did everything asked of her and she did it spectacularly well. The left was worried about Palin. She made them nervous. Imagine how they must be feeling now! Below are a few choice lines from her comments (for the full text, click here), followed by the full video of her acceptance speech.

"And I accept the privilege of serving with a man who has come through much harder missions ... and met far graver challenges ... and knows how tough fights are won - the next president of the United States, John S. McCain." "Our nominee for president is a true profile in courage, and people like that are hard to come by. He's a man who wore the uniform of this country for 22 years, and refused to break faith with those troops in Iraq who have now brought victory within sight. And as the mother of one of those troops, that is exactly the kind of man I want as commander in chief. I'm just one of many moms who'll say an extra prayer each night for our sons and daughters going into harm's way."

"To the families of special-needs children all across this country, I have a message: For years, you sought to make America a more welcoming place for your sons and daughters. I pledge to you that if we are elected, you will have a friend and advocate in the White House."

"And since our opponents in this presidential election seem to look down on that experience, let me explain to them what the job involves. I guess a small-town mayor is sort of like a "community organizer," except that you have actual responsibilities. I might add that in small towns, we don't quite know what to make of a candidate who lavishes praise on working people when they are listening, and then talks about how bitterly they cling to their religion and guns when those people aren't listening. We tend to prefer candidates who don't talk about us one way in Scranton and another way in San Francisco."

"But here's a little news flash for all those reporters and commentators: I'm not going to Washington to seek their good opinion - I'm going to Washington to serve the people of this country. Americans expect us to go to Washington for the right reasons, and not just to mingle with the right people."

"Our opponents say, again and again, that drilling will not solve all of America's energy problems - as if we all didn't know that already. But the fact that drilling won't solve every problem is no excuse to do nothing at all."

"I've noticed a pattern with our opponent. Maybe you have, too. We've all heard his dramatic speeches before devoted followers. And there is much to like and admire about our opponent. But listening to him speak, it's easy to forget that this is a man who has authored two memoirs but not a single major law or reform - not even in the state senate. This is a man who can give an entire speech about the wars America is fighting, and never use the word "victory" except when he's talking about his own campaign."

"In politics, there are some candidates who use change to promote their careers. And then there are those, like John McCain, who use their careers to promote change."

"My fellow citizens, the American presidency is not supposed to be a journey of "personal discovery." This world of threats and dangers is not just a community, and it doesn't just need an organizer."

"There is only one man in this election who has ever really fought for you ... in places where winning means survival and defeat means death ... and that man is John McCain."