The Palin Pick
So John McCain has selected one-term Alaska governor Sarah Palin to be his running mate. Yikes.By all accounts, Palin is a competent governor and loving mother. She also happens to be possibly the worst pick for a vice presidential nominee in a contested election in recent memory, worse even than Dan Quayle.
Everything about this pick reeks of desperation. Republican commentators will try to argue that the fact that Palin is a woman will somehow magically translate into disaffected Hillary voters (of which there aren't many, after the past four days), despite the fact that Palin opposes all abortion rights, is a rabid proponent of drilling in ANWR (which even McCain has thus far resisted), believes that creationism should be taught alongside evolution, and is a card-carrying member of the NRA. Anyone who calls her- or himself a Hillary Clinton supporter but is willing to vote to put a female version of Mike Huckabee a heartbeat away from the presidency is either a liar, an idiot, or a Republican trying to create a false story for the MSM.
Her Christianist ideology aside, Palin also undermines the very core of McCain's argument against Obama: that he lacks the experience to be president. I can't imagine many moderate swing voters on the fence will be flocking to McCain after Obama's magnificent speech last night and the selection of Palin. If anything, it will only further reinforce the contrasts between the two and further paint McCain and his party as desperate to win at any and all cost.
posted by Ben @ 11:59 AM
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