Yes: Governor is Young and RealLet's face it. John McCain needs Alaska's Gov. Sarah Palin, who will connect with voters as an American folk hero. First, as a governor she passes the competence test. American voters have shown again and again they will vote governors into the White House.
But more important, she's the governor of the state that captures the imagination and embodies the authentic American folk narrative. Alaska is our last frontier.
Palin is as continental west as west can be; Alaska is a nice contrast to Obama's Hawaiian roots. Even better, Palin carries a gun! She hunts! I'll bet she can skin and process a deer in under 10 minutes. Take that, Al Qaeda! She might be able to hunt down Osama bin Laden.
There's the obvious fact that she's a woman. If McCain was going to pull from the Democratic, middle-age female base that fueled Hillary Clinton's candidacy, he needed to look beyond the white male.
Think of all the voters who supported Clinton because they thought she could crack the highest glass ceiling. Palin will attract these disaffected voters who are looking for someone to vote for other than Obama. And then Palin has five kids. Five. Including one who has Down syndrome. That shows voters that she's for real and can relate to the lives of real voters.
It was important for McCain to pick a running mate who makes people feel better. Palin is as compelling, youthful and charismatic as McCain is not.
No: She has Very Little Experience
For months, the Republican Party and its presidential nominee, John McCain, have been absolutely hammering Democratic nominee Barack Obama as inexperienced and unready to be president.
The theme at their counter-convention tent in Denver last week was “A Mile High, an Inch Deep,” a clever but nasty allusion to Obama's scant government experience.
But not comes Sarah Palin.
For 20 months, she has been governor of a state with a population less than the city of Detroit's. Prior to that, she was may of Wasilla, Alaska, a town whose population is about 8,500 – about two-thirds the size of Berkley, Mich. Before that, she was on the Wasilla City Council for four years.
That's it.
On what planet is that pick not an example of a stunning – and galling – hypocrisy? By McCain's own terms, Palin is an indefensible choice.
And this is the problem with modern politics. Politicians say what they think they need to say to win votes, exploiting any advantage they can in the polls, and then they turn around and do exactly the thing they've criticized others for doing if it works, again, to their political advantage.
The most disappointing aspect of this is that it comes from McCain, whose reputation in Washington has been that of a straight shooter, someone who says what he means and does what he says.
Perhaps his judgment suffers when confronted with political opportunity.
By: Nanette Everson
Detroit Free Press; August 30, 2008
