Nearby, Kim Barnard, a pastor and 36-year-old mother of three, said choosing Palin “was the best thing [McCain] ever could have done.” “We know a lot of people who were not going to vote for McCain because he’s old,” Barnard said. “She brings a fresh breath to the Republican Party; she just kind of energized the entire campaign.”

Mark Salter, McCain’s longtime aide, said the McCain was “pumped” by the public reaction to Palin. “He loves campaigning with her.” The duo, who scarcely met before becoming a team, have begun forging a friendship helped by their irreverent senses of humor, aides say. In this honeymoon phase, voters admit they know little about Palin’s positions and background. But a sign in Albuquerque may have summed it up for Republican stalwarts: “Sarah — you had us at hello.”

McCain takes 4-point lead over Obama

John McCain heads into the final stretch of the US presidential campaign with a 4-point lead over Barack Obama, a USA Today/Gallup poll released on Sunday showed. The lead was McCain’s biggest since January and a turnaround from a poll taken before the Republican Party convention, when he trailed Obama by 7 points. USA Today said McCain got a boost from the convention and selection of Sarah Palin as his running mate.