Sarah Palin has launched a slashing counterattack on her critics telling the Republican convention that she had accepted the No.2 slot on the ticket to serve the American people, not to win "the good opinion" of her detractors.
Ahead of Mccain's nomination at the party's convention in Minnesota, the 44-year-old mother of five has painted herself as an outsider, primed to go to Washington to launch a wave of reform.
This brings her in line with McCain’s narrative that he's a maverick reformer.
Palin was met with thunderous and extended applause as she strode onto the stage and declared, "Ladies and gentlemen, I would be honoured to accept your nomination for vice president."
Picking up on a popular theme of the convention, Palin defended her own experience as a small town mayor, and launched into Obama's credentials as a 'community organiser'.
"I guess a small town mayor is kind of like a community organizer, expect they have actual responsibilities," she said
She also aimed to cast herself as a hawk to Obama's dove.
“Al Qaeda terrorists still plot to inflict catastrophic harm on America, and he’s worried that someone won’t read them their rights,” she claimed.
Continuing her attack on the Democratic presidential candidate, she tried to paint the difference between Barack Obama and John McCain as that between talker and doer.
"Here's how I look at the choice Americans face in this election," the 44-year-old mother of five said in her intensely anticipated address, the highlight of day three at the convention.
"In politics, there are some candidates who use change to promote their careers. And then there are those, like John McCain, who use their careers to promote change."
But Palin did try to take one lead out of Obama's book, describing herself as a political outsider.
"I'm not a member of the permanent political establishment and I've learned quickly, these past few days, that if you're not a member in good standing of the Washington elite, then some in the media consider a candidate unqualified for that reason alone.
"But here's a little news flash for all those reporters and commentators: I'm not going to Washington to seek their good opinion - I'm going to Washington to serve the people of this country."
Meanwhile McCain’s made a surprise appearance at the end of Palin's speech, asking those attending if they think she's the right choice for VP.
He's due to formally accept his party's White House nomination tomorrow.
