If John McCain's pick of Alaska Governor Sarah Palin as his vice presidential nominee is any indication of his governing style, a McCain presidency will be a wild ride, more fun than we've seen in years. This is a guy who likes to roll the dice, take the chances, and count on his luck. So far, his luck has been phenomenal and we have been joint beneficiaries along with him.
Faced with a number of safe, boring choices, McCain reached instead for the brass ring and may have caught it. We'll know in just over two months. No question Palin helps him with the social conservative base, and with the famous Clinton-voting white working class, and she is a reformer with a record of tossing the bums out. How cool politically is having a husband who is a world class snowmobile racer and a part Yupik Eskimo and a certified blue collar oil field worker? And did I mention she likes to hunt and eats moose burgers?
If she is no Joe Biden, Obama is no McCain. Obama, having almost no experience, needed a veep with lots of experience and got one. McCain has lots of experience and needed other things, which I argue he may well have gotten. I guess the choice is now whether you want the person with almost no experience as the president or as the vice president, the latter makes more sense.
The real unknown in all of this is the extent to which liberal feminists who supported Clinton will be willing to vote for a woman who is not liberal. Is sisterhood more powerful than ideology? Perhaps liberal feminists will hold against Palin the fact that she is attractive. In about a week the daily tracking polls will give us a clue.
