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DAYTON, Ohio : Republican John McCain unveiled a major surprise in the White House race Friday by picking a little known governor from the oil-rich state of Alaska, Sarah Palin, as his running-mate.
The choice of Palin, a 44-year-old mother of five with virtually no national political experience, marks a huge risk by McCain, and a blatant bid to win over disgruntled supporters of failed Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton.
But McCain, who presented Palin to the public at a midday (1600 GMT) rally here in Dayton, painted her as a talented and determined manager and anti-corruption campaigner with impeccable conservative credentials.
McCain described her as "a running mate who can best help me shake up Washington and make it work again."
She is "exactly who I need, she's exactly who this country needs to help me fight," he said as supporters waved American flags and cheered.
Palin "knows what it's like to worry about mortgage payments and health care and the cost of gasoline and groceries," he said.
The timing of the announcement and rally were clearly designed to overshadow the campaign of McCain's Democratic rival, Barack Obama, the morning after he accepted his party's presidential nomination in a nationally televised extravaganza in a Denver sports stadium.
With his surprise selection, McCain dominated media coverage just as Obama and his running mate, Senator Joe Biden, were due to launch a campaign bus tour of key battleground states later Friday.
Palin could appeal to the Republican's grassroots conservative base, as she is strongly pro-life and backs the gun lobby.
She would balance out concerns over the age of McCain, who celebrated his 72nd birthday on Friday, and she could also be seen as a breath of fresh air, untainted by Washington politics.
But unlike Clinton -- the former first lady who was defeated in the Democratic primary nominating race by Obama -- Palin has no national experience and has only governed Alaska for two years.
The McCain campaign moved immediately to counter this charge, noting that Palin, as governor of Alaska, has a deep knowledge of energy issues, a key issue for an electorate hammered by high oil prices and other economic woes.
It said Palin had "challenged the influence of the big oil companies while fighting for the development of new energy resources".
"She leads a state that matters to every one of us -- Alaska has significant energy resources and she has been a leader in the fight to make America energy independent," it said.
McCain also praised Palin as a crusader against corruption in her state and a tough fiscal conservative.
News that Palin was McCain's surprise choice began to leak to the press in the early hours of Friday as the Republicans sought to minimize the "bump" in popularity that Obama was expected to gain from this week's Democratic nominating convention.
Just hours earlier, Obama gave a highly praised acceptance speech to a jubilant crowd of 84,000 fans crammed into a Denver stadium, urging voters to help "restore America's promise."
He and Biden were to fly to Pennsylvania Friday for the three-day bus tour.
Picking such a long-shot candidate could undermine McCain's accusations against Obama that he lacks the experience to be the commander in chief of a country caught up in conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan.
And Palin could find it difficult to match up against experienced senator Joseph Biden, the Democrats' vice presidential pick, who has spent his much of his 36-year career working on foreign policy.
Palin is the first woman to lead Alaska and is best known for aggressively pushing for drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, a key part of McCain's energy policy.
Palin would also help McCain maintain his image as a maverick outsider: she gained popularity as a crusading rebel and whistle blower against corruption among fellow Alaskan Republicans.
After appearing with his running mate here, the Republican team was to head to two other battleground states -- Pennsylvania and Missouri -- ahead of the Republican convention in St. Paul, Minnesota, which kicks off on Monday.
In choosing Palin, McCain turned away more experienced politicians who had been considered the front-runners for the vice-presidency.
These included former Republican presidential hopeful Mitt Romney, independent Senator Joe Lieberman -- Democrat Al Gore's running mate in 2000, and Governor Tim Pawlenty of the key election battleground state of Minnesota.
- AFP /ls
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