[General] ticket/ running mate/ jolt of energy/ school

[vil]

Dear teachers,

Would you be kind enough to come into line to my interpretations of the expressions in bold in the following excerpt from a NYT’s article?

Senator Barack Obama will intensify his assault against Senator John McCain, with new television advertisements and more forceful attacks by the candidate and surrogates beginning Friday morning, as he confronts an invigorated Republican presidential ticket and increasing nervousness in the Democratic ranks.

Mr. McCain’s choice of Gov. Sarah Palin of Alaska as his running mate and the resulting jolt of energy among Republican voters appear to have caught Mr. Obama and his advisers by surprise and added to concern among some Democrats that the Obama campaign was not pushing back hard enough against Republican attacks in a critical phase of the race. Each autumn, fishermen gather along New York City’s southern coastline for fishing’s fall run. A mere 20 minutes from downtown Manhattan, schools of striped bass, bluefish and false albacore stream past New York Harbor in startling numbers.

1. ticket (n) = a list of candidates proposed or endorsed by a political party; a slate

2. running mate = a fellow candidate for the same party in one election running = having the possibility of winning or placing well in a competition

3. jolt of energy = surge of energy

4. school, a large group of aquatic animals, especially fish, swimming together; a shoal; a congregation of fish, or aquatic mammals such as dolphins or porpoises;

Thank you for your efforts.

Regards,

V.

[Tdol]

Here, the running mate is not exactly a fellow candidate IMO, because they will get the job if the presidential candidate wins, but they obviously can attract (or not) voters.