To understand my opinion, you have to at least understand my personal
criteria for qualifications, right or wrong.

Repeating myself (my opinion) ..... the office of POTUS is primarily
responsible for national security, defense and issues of common interest
or affect on the union of 50 states. Simple as that.

Obama is weak in national security issue experience. He filled that void
with his choice of Biden. Otherwise, Obama has excellent qualities of
inspirational leadership, a trait very important in the melding of
divisive priorities and chaotic world events.

McCain is (arguably to some) strong in national security issues and has
years of experience in working the "system".
But, he is 72 years old. He should have picked a much more experienced,
seasoned VP, ready to take over in the event McCain becomes unable to
serve. Instead, he picked a very nice, interesting, newbie to politics
with absolutely no experience in dealing with high level, international
issues.

It's really a matter of common sense, to me, and has absolutely nothing to
do with being liberal or conservative.

Eisboch

Richard, it appears to me that your thinking on this issue is very
traditional and "in the box". To be honest, my first reaction to the news
of Palin was the same as yours. But as the day has progressed, and I've let
it all sink in, I'm at least willing to allow for the possibility that there
may just be a stroke of genius in McCain's choice.

First, as to your concern that McCain picked his running mate to help him
get elected, there's no news there. All Veep choices by all POTUS
candidates are primarily based for just that purpose, at least at first
blush. And in this case, Palin will no doubt heal rifts within the GOP
conservative base that unfortunately needed tending to. Then there's the
real possibility that she may indeed capture a segment of independent women
voters that might have otherwise gone the other way.

Second, I'm sympathetic to your concern about the "heartbeat away" scenario.
It's a long way from ideal, for sure. But I truly believe you build your
ticket with your primary focus on your A game, not on your B game.

If you're willing to look beyond the obvious elements of shoring up the
conservative base and the blatant grab for female votes, and if you could at
least temporarily put the B game scenario on the shelf, I think the real
reason McCain made this choice starts to shine through, and I think it just
might be saleable and work just fine in practice.

It's just possible, and it is my genuine hope, that John McCain is truly
sick of the constipation that is Washington politics. If that is indeed the
case, then I think that he sees his A game as one of shaking Washington's
business as usual to its core, and effecting real and meaningful change to
the process. If that's going to happen, it will mean courageous, out-of-the
box thinking, bold actions and ultimately, stepping on more than a few toes
of the otherwise entrenched. McCain's choice in Palin is just that kind of
dynamic thinking and action. Sarah Palin's admittedly brief political
career has been all about shaking up the status quo, and taking on
entrenched and corrupt political machinery. She appears to have a very
strong compass that seems to have no problem pointing in the direction of
what's right for her constituency versus that of special interests. In
short, this young woman has been in the business of kicking asses and taking
names of those who seriously needed it since she's been in office. She has
faced down power and corruption even within her own party. She doesn't
appear to have taken an ounce of **** from anyone, including Big Oil.
That's a level of experience that is not only refreshing, but unmatched by
Obama.

Clearly, this election is about change. It's a concept that has been beaten
to death with platitudes. It's just possible that today we saw a ticket put
together that really has a chance at bringing about that change with
surprising and bold moves. Now it comes down to convincing the electorate.
But I think that McCain's Veep choice shows that he does, in fact, "get it"
that most Americans are extremely unhappy with the way Washington (doesn't)
work, and they want it fixed. I think a more traditional choice on McCain's
part would have only reinforced the image that he doesn't get it, and it
would have weakened his posture as a maverick and agent for change.

It will certainly be interesting to see how the partnership of McCain and
Palin develops and how it gets sold to the American public. I'm guessing
it's likely to either be a huge success or a dismal failure. But at this
point, I see more than a glimmer of hope that it just might be exactly what
was needed.