What we need here is a new sexual archetype for female achievement. And I think in Gov. Palin, we have an extraordinary one: pioneer woman.

A pioneer woman is a traditional figure. She stands beside her man -- not at war with him. She takes care of her home and her community. If her man is around, maybe she lets him kill the bear. But if he falls, or fails, she picks up the rifle and gets the job done, whatever the job is that needs to be done.

Here's the larger message of the Sarah Palin story:

Life is messy. First things first: Take care of your babies. You do what you have to do, and deep down you never give up on life. You refuse to choose. The unexpected will happen, but that's OK -- you can deal with it. You are resilient, optimistic, competent and caring.

How did McCain know? A moose-hunting pioneer woman is the perfect choice to be America's first female vice president.

Is Sarah Palin up to being president of the United States? Hey, listen, anyone who can raise five children while governing Alaska successfully enough to earn over an 80 percent approval rating -- I'm just not worried about.

Gov. Sarah Palin can do whatever she has to do, and she can do whatever needs to be done.