All eyes were on Sen. Barack Obama as he took the stage of the Democratic National Convention and accepted the party's nomination for president Thursday night.
However, the cameras turned swiftly to Sen. John McCain for another historic announcement Friday morning.
In a strategic move by the Republican Party, McCain named Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin his vice-presidential nominee Friday.
Beating out Florida Gov. Charlie Crist - who was rumored to be a possible contender - Palin shares McCain's stance on oil drilling and has spent much of her term fighting government corruption in her home state.
Palin, 44, is also a mother of five.
While Palin shares most of McCain's political views, Republicans are banking on the fact that she will draw votes from supporters of Hillary Clinton, said Michael Heaney, a UF political science professor.
Women ranging in age from 50 to 80 will determine the outcome of this election, Heaney said, making them the swing vote.
"By picking Sarah Palin as his vice-presidential nominee, John McCain makes himself a much more desirable candidate to moderate-to-conservative women," Heaney said.
"They have seen in Hillary Clinton a representation of their lifelong struggle."
But because Clinton has been eliminated from this race, the swing vote has been divided in two, greatly increasing McCain's chance at winning the presidency, he said.
What Heaney believed would have been Obama's election has become a level playing field due to McCain's pick of a female vice-presidential nominee.
"Now, I would say it's a coin flip," he said.
Republicans have "stopped the bleeding" by choosing Palin, he said. They've kept women, who may have considered backing Obama, from leaving the Republican Party.
Having said that an Obama-Clinton ticket would've made for a dream team, Heaney believes that the McCain-Palin ticket was the best move the Republican Party could have made in this election.
"It's a brilliant move that will greatly increase (McCain's) chances of winning the general election," Heaney said.
Had he been asked to offer advice to the presidential nominees, Heaney said, he would have told both to pick women as their running mates.
Like it or not, Heaney said this election is about race and gender. What remains to be seen is if Americans care more about having a woman or a black man in office.
Kathleen Shea, founder and president of Gators for Hillary, said she could not have been more insulted by McCain's pick for vice president.
Her initial reaction to McCain's nomination was that he picked Palin purely because she is a woman.
She said it was ironic that McCain picked someone relatively inexperienced after he spent much of his campaign harping on Obama's lack of foreign policy and national security experience.
Shea supported Clinton based on her experience in the Senate, her health plan and her intelligence. The fact that Clinton is a woman was a bonus.
Shea said many of her friends were also insulted by the McCain campaign's strategy.
"That basically says the only reason people supported Hillary Clinton is because she is a woman," Shea said.
As for the idea that Clinton would pick up the Democratic vice-presidential nomination, Shea said she never thought it would happen.
"She's such a polarizing figure, and there's a lot of animosity between the two camps," she said.
Shea said she thought Clinton's character would prevent her from accepting a No. 2 position had she been asked.
One thing Shea will not be second-guessing based on McCain's decision is her vote for Obama.
While Shea and Bryan Griffin, UF College Republicans chairman, will not be voting for the same candidate, they both have common ground.
The two believe this presidential race shouldn't be determined based on race or gender.
Griffin is pleased with McCain's choice for vice president based on Palin's platform.
"First of all, I think that Palin is a very honest person, and leadership requires integrity," Griffin said.
He cited her fight against wasteful spending in Alaska and said Obama's votes in the Senate don't compare to Palin's role as governor, which has more scope.
"Palin runs a state," Griffin said. "She has experience running an entity."
Griffin said he knows that Palin's gender has its advantages, but he rejects the notion that it is the only reason she was nominated.
Mark McShera, UF College Democrats chairman, said gender will not significantly affect voters because Palin represents "more of the same," to borrow a line from Joe Biden, Obama's running mate.
Her anti-abortion stance and her commitment to opening the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge for oil drilling only fuel the fire of the Republican Party's commitment to exploit natural resources, McShera said.
He also said Palin lacks substantial experience compared to Obama.
"Barack Obama has been in the Senate two times as long as she has been a governor," McShera said.
His biggest qualm with Palin is her platform.
"We think that Sarah Palin brings the same out-of-touch conservative values to the table as George W. Bush," McShera said.
