Why Sarah Palin?

Why Sarah Palin? This question has been asked quite a bit by newscasters, journalists, and just about everyone else who thought that they were paying attention; in the past week it's probably been asked almost as much as 'Who the hell is Sarah Palin?'

Not many people can claim to have a window into the mind of Senator McCain; perhaps his wife knows what he was thinking. I won't pretend to, so instead, let's just analyze this rather ubiquitous character and maybe come up with some reasoning for his decision, at the very least so that I can go to sleep secure in the knowledge that a man who is, effectively, a coin flip away from being the president, isn't just some senile trainwreck of a candidate. One can at least hope.

Wikipedia illuminates Mrs. Palin as a 44-year-old who got pregnant at 24 and ran off with her boyfriend. They have five children, one of whom, Bristol, 17, is pregnant now and has plans to marry her boyfriend and keep the baby. Palin is in complete support of the decision; she's actually a die-hard pro-life candidate, which is a term I will never use again, because it's as slanted as saying she's anti-choice. Obviously Governor Palin supports people being able to choose things as much as Hillary Clinton supports life, at least theoretically. The terms are misleading; Mrs. Palin does not support abortion rights.

Despite her stance on abortion, the Republican Party, or at least John McCain, feel Palin will be a strong female candidate, and help him pick up "Clinton Democrats" who are disenfranchised by Barack Obama's victory over Senator Clinton. These democrats were, of course, only going to vote for Clinton because she was a female, so they won't mind voting for McCain now, since he's found a vice-presidential candidate with breasticles. It's absolutely unfounded that any democrat might be hesitant to vote for a woman who is anti-abortion rights, a gun enthusiast, has about as much foreign policy experience as I picked up on a family vacation to Ottawa one year, somewhat ironic from a campaign that has tried to beat, bash, and bully Senator Obama for his lack of experience in that same area.

If you have any doubts about Mrs. Palin's experience with foreign affairs, Mrs. Cindy McCain said it best:

She comes from a state near Russia. That's like saying the most qualified person to negotiate with Japan is the governor of Hawaii, and that, since I come from New York, and we have lots of African-Americans, I should be sent as an ambassador to Kenya.

I think the choice of Palin illuminates a fundamental problem with John McCain's logic; he's going to slam Obama again and again for being less experienced than he is, but then he chooses an even less experienced candidate for his running mate? I don't wish ill on the man, despite my many disagreements with him, but let's be honest, he's just turned 72 (happy birthday, by the way, Senator McCain), and while he's thankfully in excellent health now, according to his doctors, we don't know if he'll remain that way. He's known for his temper, and in a high stress position, complications could arise. So, God forbid, he's elected and has a heart attack, who's going to be running the country? A woman with no experience past state government, who governs a state with so little in common with the other 49, and with a total state population estimated to be roughly equal to that of Memphis.

The only thing Mrs. Palin has going for her is ovarian fortitude and a charming personality; she has no qualifications for national government, and I think her presence on the ticket makes McCain look like a hypocrite. So I ask again; why Sarah Palin?

Links:
Cindy McCain's Comments: http://thinkprogress.org/2008/08/31/cindy-palin-russia/
John McCain's Health: http://www.cnn.com/2008/HEALTH/05/23/mccain.health.records/