An Alaskan’s Perspective on the GOP VP Nomination

Here’s an incredibly thoughtful blog post by somebody from Alaska on John McCain’s surprise VP choice, Governor Sarah Palin. For those of us in the lower 48 like me who heard the news and had the immediate reaction of, “Who the heck is that?! Is she related to the guy from Monty Python or what?” it’s a very helpful synopsis of the good, the bad, and the ugly of an often contradictory, black-box-like political figure, told by a person who’s been in a position to get a closer view than the rest of us down here.

Yes, I’m an Obama supporter. There are an awful lot of things about the Governor that seem to me like they would be, to say the least, deeply frightening traits to have in a VP or a President, but there is also a small handful of deeply admirable traits mixed in there somewhere, which is what helps make McCain’s selection seem so completely out of left field and intriguing. The blogger’s post title of “What is McCain Thinking?” is a very appropriate one, and the writer doesn’t really come up with an answer, other than, “This is the wedge-issue, desperate ‘Hail Sarah’ pass of the McCain campaign.” I have to say I hope that McCain’s desperate pass ultimately doesn’t work, but I am very afraid there’s a chance that for a lot of voters, the gamble might actually pay off.

Incidentally, the picture at the top of the post, of a place in the small town where Palin was mayor, says a lot . . .

On a semi-related note, this article from Politico is also pretty illuminating, stating that “Presidential scholars say she appears to be the least experienced, least credentialed person to join a major-party ticket in the modern era,” and here’s CNN’s Jack Cafferty making some good points:

Tags: 2008 election, Alaska, election, election 2008, Jack Cafferty, John McCain, McCain Campaign, Politico, Politico.com, presidential campaign, presidential election, presidential race, Republican, Republican Party, Republicans, Sarah Palin, VP nomination