DENVER — John McCain shook up the presidential race Friday and targeted disaffected supporters of Hillary Rodham Clinton with a vice presidential choice that defied conventional wisdom.

Sarah Palin, the first-term governor of Alaska, has no experience in Washington and is unknown in national politics. She will be the least experienced candidate for national office nominated by a major party since Richard Nixon picked the first-term Maryland governor, Spiro Agnew, as his running mate in 1968.

RUNNING MATE: McCain adds Palin to the ticket

But she offers McCain benefits as well, including the possibility of exciting social conservatives in the Republican base and perhaps strengthening himself among women voters who make up a majority of the electorate.

Once again, McCain demonstrated that he was willing to throw a long ball, a Hail Mary pass in a game in which the odds are running against him.

And he managed instantly to seize the spotlight from Democrat Barack Obama the morning after he accepted the Democratic nomination.

Conservative commentator Pat Buchanan called it "the biggest political gamble, I think, just about in American political history."

And Texas Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison — who also had been mentioned as a possible running mate — praised her on CNN as "a breath of fresh air" but acknowledged, "I don't know too much about her."

Palin has a distinctive background: the first woman governor of Alaska, an independent-minded reformer elected in 2006. She is 44 years old and the mother of five children, including a son with Down syndrome born in April. She opposes abortion rights, is a lifetime member of the National Rifle Association and touts moose burgers as a favored cuisine. She calls herself "a hockey mom."

"Conservatives will be thrilled with this pick," says conservative consultant Greg Mueller, a senior adviser to Steve Forbes' presidential campaign in 2000. He called her "a blue-collar conservative woman who will excite the Republican Party and lay out the welcome mat for independents and disaffected Clinton voters."

Democrats are likely to describe her in other ways: as unprepared for the presidency, for one. Obama spokesman Bill Burton said the choice of Palin raised questions about McCain's judgment. And McCain's willingness to put her on the ticket may undercut his argument that Obama, a first-term senator from Illinois, lacks the background for the job.

Before Palin's name was announced, Obama campaign manager David Plouffe dismissed the idea that picking a woman running mate would do much to boost McCain among women voters who disproportionately back Obama.

"McCain has a massive problem with women voters," Plouffe told USA TODAY on Thursday, "and a running mate is not going to matter with women voters."

It could, however, prompt the Obama campaign to deploy Clinton more extensively during the campaign than they had planned. A USA TODAY/Gallup Poll taken Wednesday night, the day after the New York senator addressed the convention, found her voters moving in Obama's direction.

Before the convention, a USA TODAY survey showed that 30% of Clinton supporters said they would vote McCain or were undecided. On Wednesday, that number dropped to 21%, and the number who said they definitely would vote for Obama in November rose to 59% from 47%.

Republican strategist Kevin Madden said the choice of Palin "shows that they're making a concerted effort to go after women voters who are upset that Barack Obama passed over Hillary Clinton." He called her "a reformer" and "a maverick."

"A quintessential John McCain pick," he said.

Source: USA Today