Since John McCain made the nearly unknown Palin his No. 2, the Alaska governor has been at the center of a media storm fueled by disclosures about her unmarried teenage daughter’s pregnancy, a probe into her role in an Alaskan official’s firing and questions about the her political record. McCain, 72, an Arizona senator, and Palin will be nominated by the convention on Wednesday to face Democrat Barack Obama and his vice presidential running mate, Joe Biden, in the Nov. 4 presidential election.

Palin’s anti-abortion and pro-gun record have excited conservatives and party activists but the appearance on Wednesday will be her first chance to directly tell American voters her life story and philosophy.

It comes just five days after McCain shocked the U.S. political world by introducing the 44-year-old first-term governor as his running mate at an Ohio rally.

“She made her first impression on Republicans in Ohio on Friday when McCain introduced her,” said Fergus Cullen, chairman of the New Hampshire Republican Party. “Now she can make a first impression on the rest of the country.”

Palin, the first female Republican vice presidential nominee, has stayed out of the public eye in Minnesota for two days while the revelations about her family and her record in Alaska surfaced.

She has been preparing her address with speechwriter Matt Scully, who drafted her speech in Ohio. “We’re just going to rock ‘em, sock ‘em — we kind of like it when people underestimate us,” a McCain campaign official said of the speech.

Her speech, when she will accept the nomination, may give the public a chance to assess her familiarity with domestic and foreign policy issues. She may address the issue of her 17-year-old daughter’s pregnancy and the investigation into whether she abused her power in having a public safety commissioner fired in Alaska.

Palin made her walk-through of the convention hall early on Wednesday, carried live by the morning news programs, shuffling papers at the podium and chatting with aides.

Also scheduled to speak on Wednesday was former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani, who made a failed run for the Republican president nomination.

Appearing on CBS’ “Early Show,” Giuliani defended Palin as being ready for the vice presidency and attacked Obama.

“I would say Barack Obama has never governed a city, never governed a state, never governed an agency, never run a military unit, never run anything,” Giuliani said.

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