There is at least one person who has to be absolutely delighted that John McCain selected neophyte Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin as his running mate.

And it has nothing to do with politics. But it does have a Delaware County connection.

Palin, if you have not realized it as yet, has taken the country by storm and stood the presidential race on its head since accepting the GOP’s nomination to be vice president.

She’s also been a polarizing figure. There doesn’t seem to be much in the way of gray area here, either you like her or you don’t. Either you believe she’s a breath of fresh air, for once a true outsider who can effect much-needed change to the insiders club that has run things in D.C. forever, or you believe she is a rube in totally over her head, not nearly ready to sit a heart beat from the presidency.

But proof that Palin has arrived comes not from the pundits, whose tongues have not stopped wagging she was named, nor the polls, where it is apparent she is helping McCain narrow the gap, or even take a lead, over Barack Obama.

Instead we now know Palin has become firmly entrenched in pop culture because she has been lampooned on “Saturday Night Live.”

And here’s the Delco connection. That dead-on impersonation of Palin was put on by none other than home girl Tina Fey. The longtime “SNL” standout and “30 Rock” contributor cast an eerie similarity to the governor in the skit she pulled off Saturday night with Amy Poehler playing Hillary Clinton.

Actually, if you closed your eyes and simply listened to the voice, it was hard to distinguish between the real Palin and Fey’s faux put-on.

Looks like the Upper Darby High grad has struck gold – in Alaska.