McCain's Judgment

The one thing everyone seems to agree on is that McCain’s pick of Sarah Palin is “bold.” “Bold,” as opposed to, say, “wise” or “competent.” I haven’t quite wrapped my head around it, even now that I’ve had almost a day to think about it. However, like Andrew Sullivan, I find the pick pretty cynical. The only consideration McCain seems to have settled on is keeping the evangelicals happy. Palin is an evangelical Christian, a mother of five and extremely pro-life. She’s also accused of using her powers as governor of Alaska to get her former brother-in-law fired. Palin only looks clean compared to Alaska’s uniquely corrupt political culture.

That last bit is what has me really baffled. By all accounts, McCain has barely met Palin. If I were Tim Pawlenty, governor of Minnesota, I would be pissed. McCain went over his head and picked someone with an arguably thinner resume and a brewing corruption scandal because he’s trying to game disaffected Hillary supporters. In the end, that's the only thing that makes this pick make any sense at all: McCain cynically trying to manipulate identity politics. “Here’s your chance to vote for a woman.”

The New York Times has an analysis of the pick. In part, they say: “The selection of Ms. Palin offered clues to how Mr. McCain would govern: holding deliberations to a tight circle of advisers, looking beyond the obvious options, taking risks and relishing surprise.”

That, more than anything, should give us all pause. These are exactly the traits that have given us eight years of the Bush Administration. Secrecy, keeping a tight, very limited group of like-minded people, and preferring to go for flash and surprises before considering good government and sensible choices. It’s lunacy to think that Sarah Palin is ready to be president. She may have more “executive” experience, but she gives every indication of never having given a moment’s thought to the issues that are confronting the United States.and not just Alaska.