The words I hear most frequently to describe Palin's nomination, from my normally not particularly political friends and colleagues, to those at my non-partisan hair salon, and everywhere in between, are "scary," "horrifying" and "outrageous." A few have said she makes them "apopleptic." Others have said they want to throw the remote at the television whenever she comes on. All of them now view McCain as desperate and pathetic for stooping to this Hail Mary pass. They will never forgive him for potentially endangering our country with this supremely unqualified candidate.

So it's a good thing that polls show McCain isn't likely to get away with his cheap stunt. As I frequently say, in the end it's going to be about whether there are more of them (radical right fundamentalists, ultra-conservatives and bigots) or more of us. Nothing has galvanized "us" to get out and vote more than the prospect of Gov. Sarah Palin a heartbeat away from the presidency and the evangelical extremists holding a huge I.O.U. chit over John McCain's head.

McCain couldn't win this election on his own, and now he appears unlikely to win even with Palin. We're not home free yet, just closer to the goal, so I'll be keeping the pressure on.

One more tip: Sign up for a vote by mail ballot. Don't risk having election day problems with lines and voting machines interfere with having your vote count.