John McCain has picked Sarah Palin, first-term governor of Alaska, as his running mate. The media is wondering aloud if it is a brilliant move or a questionable decision. I definitely come down on the latter side. After spending months attacking Obama for his lack of experience, McCain has picked a woman who actually had to mention her tenure on the PTA in order to bulk up her resume during her acceptance speech!
Mostly, I’m annoyed because this is basically an insult to women, especially a slap in the face to Republican women. McCain, I suppose, was hoping to appeal to all those disaffected Hillary supporters out there. Really? And the way to do that was to pick a relative unknown with no experience who most suggest is going to be eaten alive in a debate with Joe Biden? Doesn’t the Republican party have a woman who is equivalent to Hillary? Someone with national experience? A few names come to my mind–Kay Bailey Hutchinson, for one, who is now in the position of defending this choice. Or Condoleeza Rice? Maybe McCain was simply initimidated by these women?
I saw some Republican woman on CNN get frustrated with James Carville when he questioned the choice. This is so typical, she said, that men brush aside women. Sorry, lady, not buying it. We would have been thrilled if McCain had actually chosen a woman with a chance. I’m sure Sarah Palin is smart and has lots of future potential but as vice presidential candidate so is a poor choice.
