Most of the world met Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin within the past few hours, as word leaked out that she is Republican John McCain’s surprising choice for a running mate.

She’s an unconventional choice and a fascinating person to read about. She grew up playing sports and entering beauty contests and still enjoys hunting and fishing. She eloped with an oil-field worker who’s a champion snowmobile racer. They have five children. Their oldest serves in the Army and is headed to Iraq; she gave birth to the youngest this spring, taking just three days off from her duties as governor. She got her start in local politics and has a reputation as a reformer - a good thing in a state whose long-serving senator has just been federally indicted on charges of financial improprieties.

She is, of course, the first woman on a major-party ticket since Geraldine Ferraro - another first in an election year full of them.

You can Google her - you won’t be the only one! To speed your search, Political Safari drilled down through Google and various archives to bring you the following links, which should give you a better understanding of the potential veep.

- Wikipedia has the basics. Incidentally, its crowd of editors named her as McCain’s likely pick this morning before the Associated Press got around to it.

- It’s a big day for the Palin family. Her parents were out hunting for caribou when their son-in-law told them to turn on the radio.

- This may be the first you’ve heard of her, but some people have been talking about Sarah Palin for months. Jack Kelly made the case for her on Real Clear Politics back in June.

- Her organized supporters are ecstatic today. Join them on Facebook, if you like.

- Vogue magazine featured her uniquely Alaskan style in a recent issue. Still looking for the pictures themselves.

- People magazine’s Celebrity Baby Blog takes a break from Brangelina to talk about the Palins’ youngest son, Trig. (He was not named, as you might have thought, for a branch of mathematics, but for his great uncle, whose Norse name means ‘true’ and ‘brave victory.’ He has Down syndrome, creating special challenges for the governor and her family.

- Here’s her recent appearance on Larry Kudlow’s show on CNN. The AP says she ‘dissed’ the job of the vice president - but that’s a pretty standard move for contenders who haven’t been asked to join the ticket yet.

- And, finally, here’s Creative Loafing’s take on Palin, summed up in an acronym that came from the world of gross-out comedy and ought to have stayed there. Sexism is alive and well in your local alt-weekly. Their follow-up post, fortunately, shows some more consideration.

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