What's McCain's VP choice says about himself
By picking the unknown and relatively inexperienced Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin as his running mate, is John McCain trying to frame his own experience and fitness for office?
Is McCain saying that Barack Obama's choice of Senate veteran and foreign-policy expert Joe Biden is a pick designed to shore up the Democratic presidential candidate's lack of experience?
With McCain choosing a newish governor of a small (in population) state, he seems to be adding the requisite "executive experience," however thin, to his ticket.
And obviously McCain's not a woman.
But isn't John McCain really saying that he doesn't need to bring any additional experience, gravitas, leadership quality, or any of that kind of thing to his ticket because he lacks none of these things himself?
And a pick of an unknown with little relevant experience also says that despite whatever lingering injuries John McCain has from his captivity in Vietnam, and his recent bouts with skin cancer, that the presumptive nominee, like his 90-something-year-old, still-alive mother, is healthy as a proverbial horse and isn't likely to ever need to tap his veep for anything except attack-dog speeches and breaking ties in the Senate?
It worked for George H.W. Bush ...
I truly hope that the American people can see through the transparency of McCain's VP choice. She may be a wonderful mother and "new" Governor, but the reality is, she would not have even been considered if this election were not of the historical magnitude that it is.
The Democrats have made history just by virtue of having a woman and a black man as the top two contenders for the nomination. McCain is obviously feeling like he needs to do something to catch up. How pathetic.
It's possible that McCain wants to get a piece of the "historic" pie that has boosted the Democratic ticket, but my bets are that he chose Palin not to look good in the history books, but because with Palin he has a chance of wooing all those disgruntled Clinton supporters who want to see a woman in office.
There are many ways McCain could have made his ticket historic, but he specifically chose Palin because she gets at a major weakness of the Obama campaign - reluctant Hillary supporters.