A few observations about McCain's VP pick.

I'm sure we will like her better than Cheney.

Palin would be a surprise pick for sure. As would Jindal, really, even though his name has been on the market for a while. I'm not sure what to make of Palin if he does choose her. She is considered a "rising star" among Republicans (as is Jindal), but given McCain's age having a VP who is young and inexperienced would seem to be pretty risky, as well as diffuse the entire "inexperienced celebrity" concept on which the McCain campaign is based. Guess we'll wait and see who he picks.

Interestingly, Palin's Wikipedia page is being updated as we speak to reflect the possible pick by McCain.

Given McCain's age, picking Palin will be shooting himself in the foot. Can you imagine her as the next president of the United States? No way could she step into that office. Choosing another women with less experience would be a major dis to Hillary and her supporters. No way will Hillary supporters go racing over to her - she is pro-life, and though she is known for her independence from the oil companies, she is not known for her independence from natural gas companies, presenting the Alaska Gasline Inducement Act (AGIA), paving the way for a natural gas pipeline from the state's North Slope. In fact, just two hours ago, Bloomberg reported:

"TransCanada Corp., the nation's largest pipeline company, won approval from Alaska Governor Sarah Palin to build a $27 billion pipeline to carry natural gas from the Arctic to U.S. markets," clearly a political move timed for today's VP announcement.

Stay tuned.


Stay tuned.

I believe Hillary supporters will see a vote for Bush/Palin as a major dis.

agreed Prima Donna, most of them will decline to cross over. The only ones who might be tempted are the one-issue people who ONLY care about her being a woman. Given her pro life views that is a stretch.

The pro fossil fuel stance of Alaska politicians is pretty universal. I am surprised to learn from you that Palin is not in the pocket of the oil companies. Why not?

I see a major Freudian slip in my comment above -- I really meant to say McCain/Palin!

I do not believe Lieberman told McCain he would be a bad choice for VP and I will not be surprised if he is picked.

She CLAIMS not to be in the pocket of the oil companies. This bears further investigation, as many former oilmen are now in the natural gas business (Boone Pickens is one), and her own husband works for BP, a multi-national oil company, when not on his fishing boat. Again, this is from Wikipedia, so sources need to be checked.

I was convinced it would be Lieberman up until this morning. Perhaps McCain made a last-minute switch of the mind.

last chance to make your predictions, guys. Who do you think the VP pick for the Republicans will be?
Or maybe you would rather discuss the Obama acceptance speech.

Jack- Lieberman is pro choice. How does that keep Limbaugh happy? And how does it ensure that the Evangelical voters show up at the voting booth for McCain?

Thanks for the clarification Prima Donna. I think the republicans face the challenge of being pro-oil without being perceived to be pro-oil-company. I am not really sure how you can walk that tightrope.
Having said that, yes, I admit that I still put gas in my car. I would like to buy a Chevy volt plug-in in 2010 and go to 100 miles per gallon, but it's not for sale for two more years.

Maryanna- yes, it seems odd in a way, Palin being so new at the job. The McCain camp would justify that by saying no prob, Mccain has enough experience for both of them. But McCain has never been in charge of anything, just like Obama.

CNN has three confirmed sources that have been told that his pick is Palin, first-term Governor of Alaska and runner-up in the 1984 Miss Alaska beauty contest, for which she won the title "Miss Congenialty."

Wow! Miss Congeniality! Truth whips fiction every time, Prima.

If this is how it is going to be, I would love to hear from the Clinton supporters out there. Are you convinced by McCain's move to pick a female VP that you have got to switch political parties? In other words, does gender trump policy?

It's official!
from MSNBC: Palin’s seemingly bright future was clouded in late July when the state legislature voted to hire an independent investigator to find out whether she tried to have a state official fire her ex-brother-in-law from his job as a state trooper.
The allegation was made by former Department of Public Safety Commissioner Walt Monegan, whom Palin fired in mid-July.

“It is a governor’s prerogative, a right, to fill that cabinet with members whom she or he believes will do best for the people whom we are serving,” Palin told CNBC’s Larry Kudlow in an interview on Aug. 1. “So I look forward to any kind of investigation or questions being asked because I’ve got nothing to hide.”

McCain must feel that his vetting process has been able to clear her of a cloud on that one.

Is this the woman who will be ready on day one? Believe it or not, this is not a photoshopped image -- she actually did pose for the cover of this magazine, in Dec. 2007. She is the 1984 "miss congeniality" and runner-up in the Miss Alaska beauty contest. Regardless of her accomplishments, how will anyone take her seriously?

It doesn't affect my vote in any negative way.

I'd say the reason why McCain has not announced is that they are all running around the farm yard, like chickens with their heads cut off, trying to figure the odds.

This whole process does not bode well for them, in comparison to Obama's careful, well planned, well organized search, and his final, universally well received, pick...

Prima-
she has five kids, the youngest of which has down's syndrome. Tailor made to please the Evangelical pro-life constituency.
I do wonder how she will find time to be VP. But when you are VP, you can afford a nanny. If you are a penniless single mom without supportive relatives, not so much.

Well,this is one Hillary supporter who was just given even more reasons to vote for Obama. If McCain thinks this is how he will get the women's vote, he is stupider than I thought. I do not vote on gender, I vote for who I think will be the best for this country and right now,it's Obama and Biden.

wow, I have ben flagged for hate speech. Where did I do that?

I believe that might be a first for me!

Wow! as a neo-con,i am pumped.Palin,is just one great strong woman. I was somewhat on the fence this election,like so many conservatives.But not anymore,Sarah Palin!!!! rock solid gutsy conservative woman,who can be the first woman president of these U.S..The base is back-for Mac,can't wait to watch the woman make a jerk of blo-hard=Joe Biden in the debate. Thanks Mac,I can't wait to get to the voting booth now.Ground breaking,the first woman vp of America.Michelle is probably proud of America-again???

I think that Micky is indicating here that the Palin selection may be more targeted at shoring up McCain's conservative Limbaugh base rather than giving him more appeal to independents or Hillary Clinton fans.

Bill- it looks like Palin. I personally hope that it does not win the election for McCain, because I am an Obama supporter (no bg surprise). I do agree that Lieberman was not going to happen, as it would definitely have lost the election for McCain.

Mickey truly gets nuttier by the minute...

he does indeed Cynthia, but he does clarify the thinking behind the Palin selection, no?

I have no idea what McCain is thinking with picking Palin perhaps he is trying to get the leftover Hillary voters who want a woman, perhaps she is his next love interest but I truly do not care. I look at his choice as a plus for the Obama campaign. Just compare Palin with Biden and it's a hands-down win for the Dems. Hopefully the American people will realize from this choice how out of touch and reality McCain really is.

My flagging went away. Guess I was not hateful enough to warrant that.

By the way, if my crack about Palin's Down Syndrome child seemed hateful, I regret that. I was not attempting to mock learning disabilities, my effort was to point out that some people have plenty of money to deal with that situation, and others do not.

I am watching the body language of McCain, standing beside Palin while she gives her howdy speech. His body language does not look that happy. But then again McCain's body language rarely looks that happy, so who knows if she was his choice or if he felt that he had to pick her.

On the topic of clean behavior in politicians: Palin does appear to have been free of the corruption scandal that has recently raced through the Republican Party in Alaska, rocking Senator Ted Stevens.
She just uttered a declaration that her candidacy serves notice that glass ceilings everywhere will be broken. Okay, but the Republican Party has not been known for that view. Clearly that line was targeted at Clintonistas- come on in the water's fine.

PD, thanks for the Vogue cover.

I read her resume'. She seems pretty accomplished to me. A reformer, not a partisan hack. I'm watching her acceptance speech right now. I like what I see. The first republican female on the big ticket. Though it isn't the first time in my adult life I've been proud of my country, I am kinda impressed.

I can't put someone down because they have money. That would be as misguided as viewing a poor person as inherently virtuous. Presumably Obama and Biden can afford nannies too right? Is it "out of touch" to select a woman? I don't think so. Is it "a gamble?" I think it was a good call by the McCain team.

She came off pretty well in her speech as far as I'm concerned. *shrug* What do I know? An Alaskan, hard charging ball player, hockey player, hunter and outdoorswoman. I think she adds value to the ticket.

I can not wait to hear what GLENN BECK has to say about all of this mess.

Glenn Beck said he would have picked her Wow!

Hey...ah...Micky...you know, the Democrats put a woman on their VP ticket all the way back in 1984. The Republicans are over two decades late catching up to speed. And the only reason he picked her is because he thinks women are so dumb that they will just vote for her because she is a woman.

true Julie.
I understand that Palin is an avid hunter. I assume then that she will have a greater command of gun safety rules than Cheney did?

I did think it odd that she chose to conceive baby number five after getting elected Governor. Guess there is no reason not to do that, but isn't being Governor a demanding job? But am I being double standard here? Well, I think that it would apply to a man too, actually. I can remember being awake at 3:00 a.m pretty often with our two kids, even though my wife was better about it than I was. I would not have wanted to handle emergencies some of those days after.

I really feel conflicted about bringing that topic up. Maybe it is totally invalid. But part of me looks at that and says you had four already, why would you do that?

But then again, didn't Jackie kennedy have a baby while he was president?

McCain has doomed himself with this choice, no way will it happen now

it is risky, but who knows, this is a special time in history