(CNN) -- Sen. John McCain announced Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin as his vice presidential candidate Friday, calling her "the running mate who can best help me shake up Washington."
"She's exactly who this country needs to help me fight the same old Washington politics of me first and country second," the presumptive Republican nominee said at a Dayton, Ohio, rally of about 15,000 supporters, who welcomed the surprise pick of the relatively unknown politician with cheers and flags.
"She's got the grit, integrity, good sense and fierce devotion to the common good that is exactly what we need in Washington today," McCain said.
Palin, 44, described herself as a fighter against corruption and a bipartisan reformer in her first appearance as a candidate for vice president, an office she said she never expected to seek.
"I was just your average hockey mom in Alaska" before getting involved in politics, she said. "When I found corruption there, I fought it hard and brought the offenders to account."
Palin told the crowd, "To have been chosen brings a great challenge. I know that it will demand the best that I have to give, and I promise nothing less."
Palin told the crowd, "To have been chosen brings a great challenge. I know that it will demand the best that I have to give, and I promise nothing less."
Campaigning for governor, she described herself as a "conservative Republican, a firm believer in free-market capitalism" and "a lifelong Alaskan who grew up hunting and fishing."
She boasted of eliminating taxes as mayor in her hometown of Wasilla, Alaska. She also was a City Council member in the town and was chairwoman of Alaska's Oil and Gas Conservation Commission, which regulates oil and gas resources.
Palin will be the first woman to be nominated for vice president as a Republican and only the second to run for vice president on a major party ticket, after Democrat Geraldine Ferraro in 1984.
Palin also will be the first Alaskan to be on the ticket of either party.
She described herself Friday as "commander in chief of the Alaska National Guard" and noted that her oldest son, Track, is a U.S. soldier scheduled to deploy soon to Iraq.
But there also are aspects of her biography that make her unusual for a Republican candidate. McCain introduced her as a former union member and the wife of a union member, a nod to Ohio's strong organized-labor culture.
Palin made her name in part by backing tough ethical standards for politicians. During the first legislative session after her election as governor, her administration passed a state ethics law overhaul.
Nevertheless, she is under investigation for her firing of a state official, Public Safety Commissioner Walt Monegan. She has been instructed to hand over documents and recordings of telephone conversations as part of the inquiry, which grew out of allegations that she sacked Monegan for refusing to fire her former brother-in-law from the state police.
She has denied wrongdoing.
But Palin acknowledged that a member of her staff made a call to a trooper in which the staffer suggested that he was speaking for the governor.
Palin has admitted that the call could be interpreted as pressure to fire state trooper Mike Wooten, who was locked in a child-custody battle with Palin's sister. She suspended the staffer who made the call.
McCain apparently is making a concerted effort to reach out to former supporters of Sen. Hillary Clinton who may be unhappy with the choice of Sen. Barack Obama as the Democratic nominee. Watch McCain praise Palin »
"Hillary left 18 million cracks in the highest, hardest glass ceiling in America. But it turns out the women of America aren't finished yet, and we can shatter that glass ceiling once and for all," Palin said in her speech.
The remark brought a mixed reaction from the Republican crowd; some women cheered, but there was also some low-pitched groaning and booing.
Democratic leaders, including the party's presidential nominee Barack Obama and Sen. Hillary Clinton, also issued mixed reactions to Palin's announcement.
"We should all be proud of Gov. Sarah Palin's historic nomination, and I congratulate her and Sen. McCain. While their policies would take America in the wrong direction, Gov. Palin will add an important new voice to the debate," Clinton said.
"Ultimately John McCain is at the top of the ticket. As I indicated in my speech last night, I think that he wants to take the country in the wrong direction. I'm assuming Gov. Palin agrees with him in in his policies," said Obama, who called Palin later in the day to congratulate her.
"But the fact that she's been nominated, I think, or will soon be nominated, I think is one more indicator of this country moving forward," said Obama. "I congratulate her and look forward to a vigorous debate."
His campaign issued a more pointed response.
"Today, John McCain put the former mayor of a town of 9,000 with zero foreign policy experience a heartbeat away from the presidency. Gov. Palin shares John McCain's commitment to overturning Roe v. Wade, the agenda of Big Oil and continuing George Bush's failed economic policies. That's not the change we need; it's just more of the same," Obama spokeswoman Adrianne March said.
Rep. Thad McCotter, a Michigan Republican, said Palin has more executive experience than the entire Democratic ticket.
Most of the speculation about McCain's choice had focused on former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty and Sen. Joseph Lieberman, an independent from Connecticut and 2000 Democratic vice presidential nominee. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison of Texas also had been mentioned as a possible long shot if McCain were to seek a woman.
Palin is the youngest person elected governor of Alaska and the first woman to hold the job. iReport.com: McCain's pick called "a stroke of genius"
She was dubbed "Sarah Barracuda" by opponents when she was mayor in Wasilla, resurrecting a nickname she earned as a state champion high school basketball player, according to the Almanac of American Politics.
She is married to Todd Palin, an oil production operator on Alaska's North Slope. They have five children. Her youngest, Trig, was diagnosed in utero with Down syndrome.
Palin has focused on energy policy during her short stint in office, and she is known for her support of drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, a position McCain opposes but many grassroots Republicans support.
In what is his most important decision of the presidential campaign, Mr Obama opted to plug major gaps in his own political CV by selecting a 30 year veteran of Washington with a strong grounding in foreign policy.
The announcement was made by a party official before the campaign issued a text message to its supporters.
The two men are due to campaign together for the first time later today in Springfield, Illinois, where Mr Obama announced his candidacy more than 18 months ago.
Mr Biden, one of Delaware's two senators, chairs the senate foreign relations committee and is a loquacious public speaker who is expected to assume the duties of campaign attack dog, a role that the laid back Mr Obama has been reluctant to take on himself. He is best known in Britain for plagiarising a speech by Neil Kinnock during his first failed bid for the White House in 1988.
Mr Obama's Republican rival John McCain responded quickly to the announcement, issuing a television attack ad drawing attention to Mr Biden's at times gaffe-prone public pronouncements.
The advertisement (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RDVUPqoowf8) features a debate from the Democratic primary elections, when Mr Biden was himself a candidate, in which he conceded he did not think that Mr Obama was ready to be president because "The presidency is not something that lends itself to on-the-job training."
It also highlights another public statement of Mr Biden's that he would be "honoured to run with or against John McCain, because I think the country would be better off" - suggesting that he regards the Republican candidate as an acceptable alternative to Mr Obama.
Those statements were well known to Mr Obama's team who vetted his possible running mates. But the candidate has apparently decided that any short term embarrassment will be more than compensated for by Mr Biden's virtues as a seasoned pro.
In recent days, Mr Obama had stressed the need for a running mate who could immediately assume the reins of the presidency and someone who would be prepared to contradict him. "Obviously, the most important question is: Is this person ready to be president? Can this person help me govern?" he said. "I want somebody who is going to be able to challenge my thinking and not simply be a 'yes person' when it comes to policy making."
Born in Scranton, Pennsylvania, a bastion of blue collar America, Mr Biden may also help Mr Obama appeal to the white working class voters who supported Hillary Clinton during the primaries and, polls show, remain unconvinced by his candidacy.
A senior Democrat with close links to Mr Obama's team has told The Sunday Telegraph that until recently the candidate's instinct was to pick the far less experienced Governor of Virginia, Tim Kaine, with whom he has a close personal chemistry.
But Mr Biden emerged as the winner as party leaders began to voice growing frustration that Mr Obama has not been robust enough or focused enough to open up the opinion poll lead that they had hoped for and expected.
The crisis in Georgia, which Mr McCain exploited to highlight his own foreign policy experience, was also a factor. Mr Biden was invited last week to meet with Georgian president Mikhail Saakashvili, a move that highlighted the fact that he is one of the few Democratic leaders whose foreign contacts book rivals that of Mr McCain.
Mr Obama's selection of Mr Biden is a clear sign that he is prepared to temper his message of change in Washington with a sage figure who knows how the system works and is prepared to get his hands dirty taking on Mr McCain.
Mrs Clinton issued a statement praising Obama's decision and calling Biden "an exceptionally strong, experienced leader and devoted public servant." But the decision is unlikely to endear Mr Obama to her supporters
The selection is, though, unlikely to endear Mr Obama to her supporters, many of whom had still entertained hopes that she might be his running mate.
In what seems sure to provoke tensions at the Democratic national convention in Denverthis week, it emerged that not only did Mr Obama never seriously consider Mrs Clinton for the role, he never even discussed his selection with her, a move interpreted as a calculated snub by some of her most prominent supporters in the media.
Rumours of Mr Biden's selection began to circulate in the small hours of the morning when it emerged that the secret service had been despatched to his Delaware home to assume protective duties. A private jet also landed at an airport nearby, apparently to fly Mr Biden and members of his family to meet Mr Obama in Illinois.
Despite the McCain advert, there was some praise for Mr Biden's selection from across the political spectrum. Just hours before the announcement, the influential conservative columnist David Brooks wrote: "Biden's weaknesses are on the surface. He has said a number of idiotic things over the years. But that won't hurt all that much because voters are smart enough to forgive the genuine flaws of genuine people. And over the long haul, Biden provides what Obama needs.
"Presidents need someone who will be relentlessly direct. Obama, who attracts worshippers, not just staff members, needs that more than most."
Junior Mints, Yoo-hoo, Drake’s Coffee Cakes, puffy shirts: These are all things Jerry Seinfeld has endorsed — at least in his alter ego on his classic sitcom. Now, add Microsoft software.
Seinfeld will be a key pitchman in a planned $300 million fall advertising campaign for the software giant, a person familiar with the plans confirmed to The Associated Press on condition on anonymity because the deal has not been formally announced.
The Wall Street Journal first reported the plans. Citing people close to the situation, it reported the comedian will be paid $10 million for appearing in ads with Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates.
It’s Microsoft’s latest move to try to capture some of the cool quotient that rival Apple has appeared to win so effortlessly.
But for younger consumers especially, can Seinfeld turn the image tide for Microsoft?
“Seinfeld does represent sort of a challenge,” says Brian Steinberg, television editor for the weekly advertising magazine Ad Age. “He’s not Dane Cook. He’s got a more sophisticated everyday take on things. He often comes across as a questioner of conventional wisdom but also can be kind of a crank. It’s a fine line to walk when you’re dealing with a younger person.”
Steinberg did point out that the firm producing the spots — Crispin Porter and Bogusky — is known for creating commercials that appeal to young males, particularly in its campaigns for Burger King.
Seinfeld has shown himself to be a superior promoter in the past, particularly for American Express (which also featured Patrick Warburton as Superman) and in selling his Dreamworks animated film “Bee Movie” last summer.
For “Bee Movie,” which Seinfeld co-wrote, co-produced and voiced, he also created 20 “TV juniors,” which seemed less like commercials than one-minute bite-sized bits of comedy. The extensive promotion of the film began with him dressing up as a giant bee at the Cannes Film Festival.
“You gotta sell it,” Seinfeld told the AP last year. “I’ve never been uncomfortable with that aspect. I don’t feel like it’s beneath me to sell what I did.”
But Seinfeld’s greatest triumph — the nine seasons of “Seinfeld” — ended more than 10 years ago, which means that many young computer users were still watching cartoons during his pop culture dominance.
Of course, the show is still on nightly reruns and Seinfeld has been active on the standup circuit. There have even been efforts to bring “Seinfeld” to younger demographics. Sony Pictures Television, which distributes “Seinfeld” in U.S. syndication, is holding a 26-city promotion in a cross-country bus tour of colleges.
Calls to Seinfeld’s agent and manager went unreturned Thursday.
Vista, Microsoft’s latest operating system that launched with the slogan “The Wow starts now,” has received mostly negative publicity since its release last year. But sales have been strong, since more than 90 percent of PCs sold worldwide run Windows.
Apple’s ad campaign “Get a Mac” pits a coat-and-tie clad older guy (John Hodgman) representing a PC, against jeans and T-shirt-wearing Justin Long, who plays the Mac. The commercials have also poked fun at Vista.
Steinberg said this latest campaign by Microsoft shows that the rivalry between the software company and Apple is reaching the intensity of Coke and Pepsi’s cola wars of years ago.
It’s also possible Seinfeld seems more like a Mac guy, Steinberg said.
After all, it’s a Macintosh that’s seen in the background of his apartment on “Seinfeld.”
Pure speed.
It emanated from those loping, waist-high strides 6-foot-5 Usain Bolt churned with his golden spikes — untied lace and all — to win the 100-meter Olympic gold medal and break his own world record Saturday night.
It was there for all to see, too, in the "Is that really possible?!" gap of several feet between the Jamaican and the rest of the field at the finish. And, of course, in those bright, yellow numbers on the red-and-black trackside clock blaring the official time: 9.69 seconds.
Pure joy.
It radiated from Usain Bolt's wide eyes as he playfully nudged an opponent during the prerace stroll through the stadium hallways, and, moments later, when he clowned with one of the volunteers at the start line before handing her his black backpack.
It was there for all to see, too, in his "How good am I?!" mugging for the cameras with about 20 meters to go, already certain victory was steps away — outstretched arms with palms up, slap to his chest while taking the last of his oh-so-long 41 strides, leaning back to enjoy the moment instead of leaning forward in effort. And in the arms-swaying dance moves he showed off as reggae music flowed from the loudspeakers to help him celebrate.
"I was having fun," Bolt said. "That's just me — I like to have fun."
Oh, did he have a blast on this night, making obvious he is head-and-shoulders above the competition — and not merely because he really is head-and-shoulders above the competition, towering above foes in an event where no world record-holder over the last two decades has been this tall and where some didn't even reach 6 feet.
Those lanky legs allow Bolt to cover more ground, but his turnover for each stride also takes longer. He might just be turning the dash into a big man's event, though.
Bolt's sudden emergence truly began May 5 in Jamaica, when he ran 9.76 seconds, just shy of countryman Asafa Powell's then-record 9.74. This was someone to watch. Then, on May 31 in New York City, Bolt broke Powell's mark by finishing in 9.72.
Now that is gone, too, and Bolt's 0.20-second margin of victory matched the largest in an Olympic 100 final over the last 40 years.
"He's just a phenomenal athlete," said Trinidad and Tobago's Richard Thompson, the NCAA champion from LSU who won the silver by finishing in 9.89, "and I don't think anyone would have beaten him with a run like that today."
Certainly not. Bolt turned in as transcendent a show as Olympic track and field has seen in years, perhaps dating to Michael Johnson's world-record 19.32 seconds in the 200 meters at the 1996 Atlanta Games.
That mark could be next for Bolt, who considers the 200 his specialty. The heats for that event begin Monday, and the final is Wednesday, a day before his 22nd birthday.
"It definitely brings track back," said Walter Dix of the United States, the bronze medalist in 9.91.
Back to the front pages. Back from being ignored, spurned even, after a series of drug cases that stripped medals and credibility.
It's all particularly remarkable when you consider that Bolt — from the same yam-farming Trelawny parish in his Caribbean nation that was home to Ben Johnson — only began competing in the dash 13 months ago.
"I told you all I was going to be No. 1," Bolt said, "and I did just that."
Even though his left shoelace was dangling, the knot undone. Even though he skidded out of the starting blocks with the seventh-slowest reaction time in the eight-man final. Even though as recently as this month, Bolt left some doubt as to whether he would even contest the 100 in Beijing, because he didn't want to disrupt his preparation for the 200.
The talk for weeks has been about how Bolt might hold up in the four-round format at the Olympics, and how he'd do squaring off against Powell and reigning world champion Tyson Gay of the United States.
That didn't pan out. Gay, who acknowledged he paid for being sidelined the past 1 1/2 months after injuring his left hamstring at the U.S. Olympic trials, didn't even make the final, finishing fifth in his semi. Powell, meanwhile, was fifth in the final for a second consecutive Olympics, adding to his reputation for flopping on the big stage.
"Usain was spectacular," Powell said. "He was definitely untouchable tonight. He could have gone a lot faster if he had run straight through the line."
How low might Bolt be able to push that time?
9.65?
9.59?
"Anything is possible. The human body is changing, so you never know," Bolt said. "I aim just to win, but when I saw the replay, I was amazed."
So was everyone else: the competition, if you can really use that term to describe the other runners; the 91,000 or so fans whose photo flashes filled the still night air; the millions watching on TV.
Years from now, people will look at the images from the finish of the men's 100 meters at the 2008 Olympics and ask: Was Usain Bolt given a head start?
Was it possible for one man to end up that far ahead of seven other men, seven other elite sprinters, the best the world has to offer?
It was, after all, the first Olympic 100 in which six men finished in under 10 seconds. One of them, sixth-place finisher Michael Frater of Jamaica, described Bolt's new record this way: "No one will get near it."
Well, perhaps no one other than Bolt.
There were other events on this clear night, other medals awarded. Nataliia Dobrynska of Ukraine won the heptathlon, with Hyleas Fountain earning a bronze for the first U.S. medal in that event since 1992. Valerie Vili won the women's shot put, giving New Zealand its first Olympic gold medal in track and field since 1976. The favorites advanced to Sunday's semifinals in the women's 100.
Ho-hum.
Nothing that could help restore some of track and field's luster the way a dazzling sprinter can.
His coach wanted Bolt to add the 400 to his repertoire instead of the 100, figuring height would help at the longer distance. But Bolt insisted on taking on the shorter event, in part, he admits, because it's, well, shorter. Less taxing. Less time spent running, sweating, working out.
Bolt enjoys cars — speed, clearly, is what drives the guy — and, like many twentysomethings, he likes to go out with pals and dance. He's been frank about realizing he needed to go to the gym more and party less to fulfill the potential that's been evident since he became the youngest-ever male world junior champion in the 200 at age 15.
In some ways, he still is a kid at heart. His Saturday morning began with some television-watching, followed by some chicken-nugget-eating. Then he turned the TV back on, before deciding to take a three-hour nap.
In the evening, a very special 9.69 seconds — read those numbers again, slowly — changed his life. After he kissed those shoes of his, and posed for photo after photo, Bolt finally walked barefoot off the rust-colored track that will always be meaningful to him and his sport. He was handed a telephone: Jamaican Prime Minister Bruce Golding was on the line.
Later, after Bolt left the stadium's drug-testing area, he was mobbed by Olympics volunteers who wanted autographs on scraps of paper or their sky-blue shirts. They wanted photos of him.
And then along came a car and driver, and Bolt slid into the front seat.
The "World's Fastest Man" is enjoying the ride.
