With the first female on the Republican ticket, John McCain pulled off quite a feat by introducing Sarah Palin, first term Governor of Alaka, as his running mate. But with 66 days till the general election, the excitement of the choice will give way to many questions.
The resounding feeling is that McCain was bold enogh for him to "reclaim his maverick image", but the pick has its risks. (One Republican operative tells the Daily News, "I want to believe this is a game-changer, but when I close my eyes I see New Orleans in 1988. Democrats will have a field day typecasting her as Quayle in a pantsuit.") The pair only met once--at a National Governors Association meeting in February--before they discussed this position on the phone this past Sunday. The clip being played over and over again is her statement from July, wondering what a VP does:
As for the papers' editorials, the NY Post is excited her reformer credentials and even suggests her experience as mayor of a town of 9,000 "gives her substantially more executive experience than Barack Obama or Joe Biden combined." The Daily News says, "Politically, she adds up," noting her down-to-earth mom-of-five persona--as well as appeal with social conservatives. The Wall Street Journal calls McCain-Palin a "Reform Ticket," and believes she would "bring some first-hand realism to the debate over drilling and the environment."
The NY Times calls the selection of Palin "heartening," because the GOP "has hardly been a champion of diversity in recent memory," but points out, "Governor Palin’s lack of experience, especially in national security and foreign affairs, raises immediate questions about how prepared she is to potentially succeed to the presidency. That really is the only criterion for judging a candidate for vice president." The Washington Post has similar concerns, noting that McCain considers foreign policy and national security to be America's top challenge.
And Hillary Clinton, who hoped to head into the executive office, said, "We should all be proud of Governor Sarah Palin's historic nomination, and I congratulate her and Senator McCain. While their policies would take America in the wrong direction, Governor Palin will add an important new voice to the debate." However, one of her supporters, Debbie Dingell (wife of Rep. John Dingell of Michigan), told the WaPo, "This is just sheer political pandering. I don't think women are going to buy it."
Obama said in a 60 Minutes interview (which will air tomorrow night) that one of the reasons why he picked Biden is "I want the counsel and advice of somebody who's not going to agree with me 100 percent of time - in fact, somebody what's independent enough that can push back and give me different perspectives and make sure that I'm catching any blind spots that I have."
