GoldbergBlog

Passing Judgment on McCain’s Judgment

Well, John McCain certainly surprised us all on Friday morning when he announced that Alaska Governor Sarah Palin would be his running mate.  Other unexpected choices with about as much experience: Jesse “The Body” Ventura, Geena Davis, and Kermit the Frog.  Oh yes, it was a “maverick move” in the same way that going for first down on 4th and 30 in football is a “maverick move”.  I have yet to hear anyone describe this choice as “brilliant” or “wise”.  I’ve heard “desperate”, “shocking”, and “idiotic”, but while this choice may have won McCain the news cycle, it may wreck the remainder of his campaign.

Next week is the Republican National Convention and instead of having the news focus on the speakers and the Republican platform and trying to dismiss the already conventional wisdom that the Republicans are going to lose big in November as far as congress is concerned (and that isn’t me being a liberal cheerleader; that sentiment is from Republican insiders), the media will be trying to answer “Who is Sarah Palin and why should she be Vice President?”  The DNC had it organized: heal the party rift by the time Joe Biden got up to speak and then let Obama bring it home.

It wasn’t even that McCain picked someone only slightly more experienced than your server at Denny’s; it’s that the media had no time to prep.  There’s been the comparison of Palin to Virginia governor Tim Kaine, who was on Obama’s short-list for VP, since they’re both first-time governors.  Aside from the fact that Obama didn’t pick Kaine, here are some notable differences:

• Virginia has a population of almost eight million while Alaska has less than 700,000
• Kaine’s name had long been circulating on the short-list so the media had time to research him and get his credentials
• Virginia has thirteen electoral votes and has the possibility of going blue in November; Alaska has three votes and has only gone blue once since it’s been a state
• Kaine had been a co-chair on Obama’s election committee since February 2007; McCain spoke to Palin twice before selecting her as his running mate

And let’s be frank: McCain is old.  The guy turned 72 on Friday and if the male life expectancy for a person living in the United States is 75.2 years old, then should McCain survive his first term, he’ll be living on borrowed time.  That’s cruel and understand that I don’t wish the man ill.  As much as I disgree with his policies, I wouldn’t wish death on him, especially now that Sarah Palin would be his vice president and seems about as ready for the job as Michael Phelps (note: if McCain had put Michael Phelps on the ticket, he’d win every state; America loves that guy).

Yes, it would be neat if we had a female president.  If we don’t have have a female president within the next twenty years, I’d be shocked.  But the “wow” factor is going to wear off real fast when you realize that it doesn’t matter if the President is a man, woman, or transsexual: if they don’t know what they’re doing, that’s bad news for the country.  One month ago, Palin didn’t even know what the VP did and to be fair, one month ago, she probably didn’t think she’d ever have to know.

Did John McCain forget that while he has to win an election, he also has to govern?  That a choice of a running-mate is more than just picking up votes but a serious choice for who you want first in the order of succession?  In a campaign marked by a desire to do anything to win, this is “The Maverick’s” most asinine decision yet.  Sure, Palin’s got cred as a woman who’s a social conservative, but so do Ann Coulter and Michelle Malkin (note: if McCain picked Michelle Malkin, it would be the funniest thing ever because it would mean that Oberlin College, one of the most liberal colleges in the nation, produced the running mate for the Republican ticket).

The choice of a running mate varies from ticket to ticket.  What Obama needed was not the same as what McCain needed.  And McCain didn’t have a great field to choose from just as Republicans didn’t have an ideal choice for their Presidential candidate.  Pawlenty was a safe choice but one that wouldn’t gather a lot of excitement.  Romeny could have provided economic support and vigor but he’s a Mormon so he’s out.  McCain agreed with Lieberman 100% on foreign policy but they would always disagree on social issues.  Tom Ridge would have been a safe choice but he believes that women should control their utereuses so he’s out.  The decision not to select Tom Ridge strikes me as particularly humorous because it means that the narrow issue of Roe v. Wade, which is such a hot-button topic yet miniscule in its significance when compared to larger issues of national security and the economy, could mean that the right wing’s lunatic fringe has set up the party for failure.  The selection of Sarah Palin certainly doesn’t set them up for success.

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