Two-hour exploration of 2008 campaign depicts Palin's rapid rise and fall – and those who shoved her into the spotlight

There's a moment early on in HBO's new movie on the 2008 presidential election, Game Change, in which Sarah Palin is being whisked away from the relative obscurity of her governor's mansion in Alaska to become John McCain's presidential running mate. The appointment, she has been warned, will instantly turn her into one of the most famous people on the planet and change her life forever.