McCain Picks Alaska's Governor as Vice President
Right on the heels of Barack Obama's electrifying acceptance speech last night comes news that John McCain has selected Sarah Palin, the governor of Alaska, as his running mate. "She's exactly what this country needs to help me fight ...the same old Washington politics of me first and country second," McCain said at a rally in Dayton, Ohio.
The news was a big surprise -- most people were talking about Mitt Romney, Timothy Pawlenty, Bobby Jindal and even "independent democrat" Joe Lieberman. And just a month ago Palin herself said in an interview that the vice presidency didn't seem productive. Still, she's seen as a rising star in the Republican Party.
The choice of Palin is at least partly a bid to bring Hillary Clinton followers over to vote for a woman, but her anti-abortion stance probably won't appeal much to Democratic voters. And that's just the start of a laundry list of cons.
In particular, her youth and inexperience could backfire on the GOP: while Dems may not be able to bash her inexperience for fear of drawing attention to Obama's short political resume, but how easily can the Republicans call Obama "the most inexperienced candidate of our times" when Palin has just two years as governor and the mayorship of a small town in Alaska under her belt? If McCain is elected, he'll be 73, the oldest president ever, so the possibility of his VP stepping in is a much more serious consideration. Chuck the "not ready to lead the country" line right out the window.
[Image source: Wikimedia Commons]
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Chuck the "not ready to lead the country" line right out the window.
Think again. Her years as a Governor and as a business woman make her more qualified than boht Obama and Biden.
BTW, Biden at 66 is no spring chicken and as Obama says he will be in office for the next "8-10 years".(Not sure how he'll pull off yrs 9-10 but he is the messiah...) So lets see after 4 Biden is at 70 should we fire him because of his age?
Palin is more qualified than Obama and Biden!! That is the truth.
Good point theriteside.
McCain/Palin 2008!!!
after the sarah palin pick, i felt the gop slapped the american public in the face. through nearly 2 years of bashing obama for inexperience, mccain chooses sarah pallin. even more disgusting is karl rove, bill o'reilly, and rush defending her foreign relations credentials with "alaska's proximity to russia." also, through the past two debates, fox reported that mccain won by 86-87% of people's opinion.
@theriteside: you dont FIRE him because of his age, you simply don't choose him for the job. and joe biden shores up where obama is lacking experience - foreign relations. unlike mccain's dual maverick campaign.
as an independent, i dont see how any republican could continue to have any respect for their party after 8 years of failed policies, and their great alaskan hope.