Palin's Bounce?

Really quick:

Palin's selection has already created a a situation unique to this election in which one party's vice presidential nominee is being directly evaluated vis-a-vis the other party's presidential nominee.

Now, it appears that Palin has done--er, is being credited by the mainstream media as having done--something else which falls far outside what we consider to be a VP nominee's traditional sphere of responsibility and influence. Yes, the Republicans' entire post convention bounce is being characterized by many outlets as the Palin Bounce (here, here, ad nasueam). To my knowledge, such an overwhelming amount of the credit for a boost in the polls attributed mostly to the VP candidate alone, combined with the inordinate amount of coverage and legitimacy lent to Palin by the media thus far, are facets unique to this election. It's not uncommon to see an enthusiasm gap between parties, but we aren't used to seeing it between ticket-mates.