By selecting someone as unexpected as Sarah Palin as his running mate, John McCain, the Republican presidential candidate, has thrown the proverbial cat among the pigeons.

Dubbed Miss Congeniality in reference to her days competing in the Alaska beauty pageant, most Democrats consider Ms Palin’s selection to be a godsend. They point to the fact that she only recently acquired a passport (Americans do not need one to visit Canada) and that her selection blunts Mr McCain’s criticism of Barack Obama’s inexperience – particularly with Joe Biden, a foreign policy veteran, as the Democratic candidate’s running mate.