John McCain was behind, and he knew it. He needed to pull a rabbit out of a hat. As a result, he picked an obscure politician from Alaska to be his running mate in the summer of 2009. The repercussions of that decision are still being felt today.
Sarah Palin was, and is, a pure reactionary. She knew nothing, and cared less, about policy. She was, however, very good at ripping off sharp, sarcastic lines about the culture wars. She knew how to own the libs. She claimed to speak for average Americans in flyover country against a failed, overeducated urban establishment. The base loved her for it, and cried for more.
McCain was crushed, but the far right wasn’t. For the first time, a genuine reactionary populist had been on the ticket. It would not be the last.