Palin's Unconventional Rollout Eclipsed — and Maybe Sheltered — by Gustav

ST. PAUL, Minn. - Sarah Palin arrived at her party's convention as its biggest mystery and biggest sensation — a first-term Alaska governor chosen to be a heartbeat from the presidency — only to watch a hurricane swallow the week that was meant to introduce her.

John McCain's selection of Palin, announced Friday in Ohio, stunned both parties. The 44-year-old mother of five, a former small-town mayor elected governor in 2006 on an anti-corruption platform, was on virtually no one's public short list.

The pick electrified social conservatives, who had been lukewarm toward McCain, and drew an immediate counterattack from Democrats questioning whether a governor of 20 months is prepared to step into the Oval Office.

Palin's rollout was already complicated by "Troopergate," an Alaska legislative investigation into whether she abused her power in a dispute over the firing of her ex-brother-in-law, a state trooper. She denies wrongdoing and says she welcomes the inquiry.

In a sign of the scrutiny to come, the McCain campaign dispatched a rapid-response team to Alaska to vet the vetting. Aides insist they knew everything and chose her anyway.

Her convention address, still scheduled for later this week, is now among the most anticipated political speeches in memory — whenever the storm allows the convention to hold it.

Democrat Barack Obama, asked about the pick, was gracious in public: "I want to congratulate Gov. Palin," he said. "Her story is a compelling one."

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Associated Press writers contributed to this report.

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