I didn't expect her to be a disaster, but I was surprised by her charisma and poise on camera for a relative noob. I'm inclined to agree with Charin though. I think she did a great job getting the base fired up, but I don't think she won over any "undecided"s. All the Toby Keith jingoism, and self-deprecating references to herself as a "gal" might cinch the deal for RedStaters who were saying "who the fuck is Sarah Palin?" a week ago... but it wont win over any Hillary voters.
What was noteworthy was how adroitly she turned the negative press to her advantage. Painting herself as the plain-spoken, hard-working wife and mother, viciously maligned by the liberal, elitist press [ who didn't see that coming? ]. The game for the Obama camp now is not to let her get too much national sympathy. If they're smart, they wont touch the family shit, and keep the campaign focused on issues.