Since Palin delivered a combative speech at the GOP Conference which drew overpowering applauses, her image has been stronger than ever. Her sex, her religion and her status as a typical average American mother have been drawing women supporters - especially those who initially supported Hillary Clinton.

Everything, basically, whether is it the dirty scandals or the rumours for Palin's lack of expertise had been cleverly turned to her advantage, and subtly covered up by her charisma.

As pointed out by Mr. Obama, she has "been receiving so much media attention..".

Mr. McCain's management had advised him to appear with Mrs. Palin all the time to boost his image. And that's what he did. He even started refering to his campaign as led by "the pair of us", when he addressed the roaring crowd with Mrs. Palin by his side.

Then let's take a look into what Obama had been doing.

Many think that Mr. Obama may be overshadowed by Mrs. Palin due to the extensive exposure to the mainstream media recently - though according to Professor Andrew White, Singapore Management of Singapore, School of Law, said that America's "mainstream media tend to favour the Democrats..", and hence resulting in the birth of FOX news, which aims to present an objective view to Americans.

Blow #1

Delivered by Mrs. Palin, who used the GOP as a platform to rail against Obama and deflect criticisms about her own lack of foreign policies, she said "What's the difference between a hockey mom and a pit bull? Lipstick.

Obama's Response: Palin's message is like a "Lipstick on a Pig"

"We've been talking about change when we were up in the polls and when we were down in the polls," Obama said as surveys suggested John McCain and Sarah Palin have overhauled his lead for the November 4 election.

"The other side, suddenly, they're saying 'we're for change too.' Now think about it, these are the same folks that have been in charge for the last eight years," the Illinois senator told a crowd of 2,400 people in Lebanon, Virginia.

"You can put lipstick on a pig. It's still a pig. You can wrap up an old fish in a piece of paper and call it change. It's still going to stink after eight years. We've had enough," he exclaimed to a standing ovation.

Firing back, Former Republican Massachusetts governor Jane Swift said Obama was guilty of "disgraceful comments, comparing our vice presidential nominee, Governor Palin, to a pig."

Blow #2

Just last week, Mr. McCain expressed his admiration and respect for Mr. Obama - well, that was last week.

Come this week, while Mr. Obama dished out his policies on Education, the McCain campaign timely released an advertisement that mocked at Obama's sex education proposal. They claimed that Obama is aiming at giving "Comprehensive sex Education" to "kindergargeners on sex even before they can read" for that matter. The ad ended with these 3 phrases: "Obama. Wrong for Education. Wrong for your Family."

Though the Obama campaign swings back at the McCain campaign, many argued that it was not as spectacular or impactful as what the McCain campaign delivered in the ad.

Click here to see the video on the McCain's campaign advertisement.

Previously, Mr. McCain attacked Obama's energy plan, accused Obama of "playing the race card", said that "Obama's a celebrity, not a politician" and claimed that he "will get Osama Bin Laden" - if he was voted President.

Did the Obama campaign suffer a backlash as a result?

Let's take a look at the Polls.

All Women

August September

Obama: 50% 49%
McCain: 36% 46%

Women Under 50 (18-49 yr old)

August September

Obama: 54% 47%

McCain: 35% 49%

Analysis: Sarah Palin was both a gender and generational pick to woo voters.

Will Bring Real Change

June September

Obama: 48% 52%

McCain: 21% 35%

Analysis: Sarah Palin allowed McCain to get out of the box with the Bush-McCain relation, explaining his out-of-the-box pick of candidate. He reinvented his campaign with her help.

Dinner with Which Candidate?

Obama: 40%

Palin: 33%

McCain: 15%

Biden: 7%

- NBC News

The Sarah Palin ticket definitely brought about a huge impact as reflected in the polls to the McCain team. She has also "tripled the excitement factor", as Chuck Todd, NBC Political Commentor said.

As the countdown to Nov 4 starts getting into a dead lock, it'll be fascinating to watch Obama and Palin battle head-on, especially on the "Bridge to Nowhere" issue.

Labels: USA Politics