An announcement this morning named Sarah Palin, the governor of Alaska, as John McCain's running mate. This is the only second-ever presidential ticket with a woman on board, the first being the failed 1984 Democratic ticket with Geraldine Ferraro.
Palin's selection is further proof that the McCain campaign is only interested in serving the Republicans' evangelical Christian base (one that McCain himself had antagonized in the past), given Palin's stances on a variety of social issues. Beyond that, however, her track record and stances on other issues are vague at best. McCain will find it far more difficult to press Obama on his inexperience, as Palin has even less experience.
My lifelong Republican father, currently in Anchorage, remarked that McCain has made a big mistake in picking Palin, and that this will assure Obama of victory. The Democrats are showing unusual strength in Alaska, he says, and this must be due to Senator Ted Stevens and Representative Don Young, both Republican incumbents, being embroiled in corruption scandals.
While I am pleased to know that the next Administration will have either a black President or a female Vice President, I am not pleased to know that the female Vice President, if that happens, will be reactionary Sarah Palin. Moreover, the Republicans now have an Arizona-Alaska ticket, comprising of my two least favorite states in the Union; given what I know about those states, hell will freeze over before I ever vote for a ticket like that.
Yahoo! analysis
