John McCain's pick of Sarah Palin doesn't represent change.  It represents the solid hold the extreme right-wing still has on the Republican Party.  The NYT Times reports: 

Social conservatives were relieved and highly pleased.

“They’re beyond ecstatic,” said Ralph Reed, the former head of the Christian Coalition. “This is a home run. She is a reformer governor who is solidly pro-life and a person of deep Christian faith. And she is really one of the bright shining new stars in the Republican firmament.”

If Governor Palin is the future of the Republican Party their future isn't looking very bright.

Bill Burton gets it right:

“Governor 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.”

She's even to the right of John McCain on the environment.  Palin has been the governor of a small state for only two years and before that she served as the mayor of a township of only 9,000 people.  She clearly isn't qualified to serve as the president of the United States in the event something were to happen to McCain.

Update:  This story is just amazing.  Pat Buchanan says that Palin was one of the supporters of his 1996 presidential campaigns.  Buchanan, we all remember, is that fringe racist and anti-Semitic character who became the hero of the extreme right wing in America during his presidential campaigns of 92 and 96.  If Palin was a Buchanan follower it speaks volumes about her own character.