It will be interesting -- and?possibly decisive come November -- to see how those who aren't strongly on the right or left feel about Palin as the weeks go on. From what I have read, and more and more is coming out daily, she's gotten a lot of things done in Alaska but hasn't necessarily made a ton of friends in high places doing it. And like it or not, Washington sure seems like it can be a tough place to succeed without some friends in high places.

One thing that strikes me is that she seems to be real. I watch a lot of politicians and after sometimes just a few seconds wonder if they could be any more robotic or fake. I certainly didn't get that idea from Palin at all.

Her family has real-life things going on. A baby son with Down's Syndrome. A teenage daughter, still under the age of consent but pregnant, we learned within a couple of days after the announcement of Palin's choice.

She and the McCain campaign already have struck back at those who have been critical of the daughter's pregnancy. While both sides of the campaign agree attacks on family members are below the belt, part of running in a campaign for the nation's biggest office, is your family gets held to a lot more scrutiny as well. And people are a lot more interested in what the vice president is doing than the mayor of Wasilla, Alaska, or a community organizer in Chicago.

No doubt Democrats will work to show she's in over her head, much as Republicans are working to show the same about Obama. Let's hope both sides are wrong, because one of these two Americans is going to have a big job come January, and the other surely will have big political days ahead as well.

Christian Potts 366-3531 cpotts@normantranscript.com