BLOOMINGTON, Minn. - With presumptive Republican nominee John McCain's announcement that Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin would his running mate, not former Gov. Mitt Romney, the Massachusetts Republican delegation has found itself outside of the national spotlight at the Republican National Convention this week.

But, perhaps surprisingly, the Bay State's republican delegates reacted to the news with mixed emotions, not outright disappointment.

"Sarah Palin is someone that is just a breath of fresh air," party Chairman Peter Torkildsen told the delegation at their breakfast Monday morning. "To me it's a winning ticket ... a ticket that's going to help us elect a lot of our candidates in Massachusetts."

Palin was given a round of applause by the delegation when Torkildsen introduced her, and several delegates said they were pleased McCain picked her. Emery Haskell, a delegate from Malden, said he was "pleasantly surprised" by McCain's choice.

"I think John McCain was confronted with a lot of decisions about how to distinguish the Republican Party at this point, to bring a new generation of leadership," he said. "It speaks to his character that he gave this person a chance."

Haskell also said he understood why some in the delegation might have been pulling for Romney.

"As a person from the commonwealth, would it have been nice to have Mitt?" he asked. "Sure, but it is a bigger issue than that."

That bigger issue, Haskell said, was putting a woman in the White House. The ticket, he said, "is about to shatter that glass ceiling."

Having a woman on the ticket also appealed to Isaac Mass, a delegate from Greenfield. Mass has three daughters and said he is "very excited about Sarah Palin." Mass said he looks forward to Palin being elected so, when he tells his daughters they can do anything they can dream of, reaching the White House won't be an exception.

Still, some delegates expressed their disappointment that Romney wasn't picked.

"Yes, I'm disappointed it wasn't Mitt Romney," Mark Crowley, a Medford delegate, said. Crowley said he has "guarded optimism" about Sarah Palin and said Romney would have added to the ticket.

"Mitt Romney brought to the table the right positions," he said, "and the executive experience."

Picking Palin, Crowley added, "takes thunder out McCain's criticism of [presumptive Democratic nominee Barack] Obama's experience."

"I'm surprised it wasn't Mitt Romney as a Romney fan but I'm not upset," added Christian Blanc, a delegate from Cambridge. Blanc said he is aware of Palin's "very conservative record," though, and said that she will "galvanize the conservative base of the Republican Party" in the same way that Romney would have.

Mass, the delegate from Greenfield, said he can't be too disappointed with McCain's passing over Romney because Romney is well-positioned to continue to play an influential role in the GOP.

"Mitt Romney has a valuable future in the Republican Party and the United States," Mass said.