Starting points

Since this is the first election I've been eligible to vote in, i haven't paid much attention to previous elections. Ok, i haven't paid any attention to them. (And I've paid less attention then is probably necessary for this one) But i was wondering, Do candidates for vice president always come out of the blue like Sarah Palin seems to have? Granted I had never heard of Joe Biden before the election, but I was hearing his name long before Palin's. What drives a party to nominate a candidate with seemingly so little political experience. A mayor from the state with the least dense population in the country getting skyrocketed to vice president seems a little extreme. From what I understand Joe Biden, is a senator, which i feel is a more appropriate launching pad for this kind of thing. I should also note that a relativity new senator to president is also a pretty big leap. but that is more of a Earth to moon jump, rather then Earth to Jupiter like Palin's seems to be.

( I feel it is worthy to note that Jupiter is a gas giant and has no actual surface on which you could feasibly land. Accenting my point that the idea seems ridiculous)