This should be interesting...

Well, McCain picked Sarah Palin. While I was hoping for Eric Cantor, Palin was my third favorite, after Romney. I just don't think she will bring as much in terms of experience or help in key states as the other two.

Clearly McCain is hoping Palin will appeal to a wide range of people, from Clinton supporters who were hoping for the first woman, to conservatives looking for someone to add a little excitement to the ticket, to independants who wanted to make sure McCain would pick a Veep who was just as willing to take on corrupt politicians from either party, and be willing to work with Democrats to get things done.

When I first turned on the news this morning I was really quite shocked, and a little worried that McCain had picked her. I just don't think she has the experience needed. And I am very nervous about how well she will be able to go toe-to-toe with Biden.

She hasn't had to take on serious Democratic opponents yet, as far as I have seen, as Alaska is a very Red state.
Biden has been debating in the Senate since Palin was 9 years old.
Watching her speech this morning, it was plain, that while it was a great speech, and she is a talented speaker, she was also very nervous. McCain kept encouraging her along - which isn't necessarily a bad thing, but it shows she has little experience speaking on a national level, and that may hurt her.
So, I will be very interested to see how well she will fare against Biden.

Also, the fact that she is a pro-life woman, may be more threatening to Clinton supporters than men who are that way - so she may end up alienating them more than bringing them in.

Another thing is, she is not going to help much in any of the swing states for McCain, unlike Cantor or Romney would have. She may bring in some Clinton supporters, but, in the end, it is all about the electoral vote, not the popular.
Clinton supporters will definitely help with the latter, but I have doubts as to how much the will assist with the former.


I think McCain just decided the election with this selection. If Palin winds up being able to do well against Biden, and is able to bring in a lot of Clinton's former supporters, and she does well in the other areas McCain needs her, then he will win.
But if she can't handle Biden, or can't deliver Clinton supporters in key states, then it will be an uphill battle for McCain.

The other problem with her some people have voiced is that she is currently under investigation from her state senate.
Basically, they are saying she fired someone because he failed to fire a state trooper who had been involved in a divorce and child custody battle with Palin's sister.
The trooper reportedly threatened to kill her father (and Palin's), tasered his 11 year old stepson, and violated game laws.
Palin asserts that she did not fire the official for this, but instead because he had failed to fill State Trooper vacancies, and because he did not turn out to be a team player on budgeting issues.

I think this is the weakest point against her though, considering the problems Obama has had with this kind of thing, and the problems Biden has had as well, this should not be a serious issue, especially considering the person in charge of the investigation into Palin's dismissal stated that commissioners serve at will, thus she could fire them at any time, it does not appear this will cause any lasting difficulty for her.