The Pros and Cons of McCain's VP Selection
Posted: Saturday, August 30, 2008
by Terry Mitchell
http://commenterry.blogs.com
Yesterday John McCain surprised most of the pundits -- myself included -- with his selection of a dark horse candidate, Alaska Governor Sarah Palin, as his running mate. I'll be the first to admit that I was dead wrong in guessing that his short list had been narrowed to just Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty and former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney. The only thing most of us got right is the fact that he picked a governor. In doing so, he assured that Ms. Palin will become the first sitting governor in 40 years to be nominated by a major party for vice president. The last was Spiro Agnew, then governor of Maryland, in 1968.
In addition, she is very attractive. That's an important factor for any politician, especially a woman (which I say at the risk of being accused of male chauvinism). In fact, she is a former beauty queen who represented her hometown the 1984 Miss Alaska beauty pageant.
Like McCain, Palin is known as a maverick. She will likely help McCain reinforce his image as one who doesn't always follow his party's line. Her western roots may help McCain solidify his grip on the west, where Republicans have dominated in presidential elections, but where Barack Obama plans to put up a fight this time around.
But the most obvious advantage of her selection is the fact the she's a woman, only the second one selected as the running mate of a major party's presidential nominee. The first was Geraldine Ferraro, who was selected by Democratic presidential nominee Walter Mondale in 1984. McCain is obviously going after disgruntled supporters of Hillary Clinton by becoming the first GOP presidential nominee to name a woman to the number two spot on the ticket. He has already targeted them in a TV ad. Palin's presence on the ticket may be just what was needed to convince many of these people to come on over to McCain.
Of course, there are also some possible cons. Governor Palin is almost a complete unknown with little name recognition, and has yet to be vetted by the national media. Her lack of experience in foreign policy and other national issues will certainly be a target of the Democrats. They will also stress the fact that she has been a governor for less than two years. This may cause people to think she is not ready to be a heartbeat away from presidency. Therefore, she will need to guard against the fate that befell Dan Quayle, i.e., being branded as a political lightweight from the outset. And there will be questions about how well should could do in the vice presidential debate against Joe Biden.
The fact that she calls herself a feminist may arouse the suspicions of some right-wing conservatives. As was the case with Biden, she is from a small state (population-wise) that was already in the presidential nominee's electoral column. And although she hails from a working class background, her selection does nothing to counter Biden's appeal in the "rust belt" states of Pennsylvania, Ohio, and Michigan.
Her physical beauty that I mentioned above could prove to be a two-edged sword. If one is too attractive, it can sometimes be an albatross. It could be a distraction and make it difficult for her to be taken seriously. Normally, the only place you would find a female politician who looked that would be in a TV movie. That could make her an instant favorite of the tabloid media -- not a good thing.
Just as the selection of a woman attracts some voters, it may put off others, especially considering McCain's age. The real possibility that a woman, especially one as young as the 44-year-old Palin, could become president on a moment's notice could prove too frightening for some older voters. Keep in mind that older voters have been overwhelmingly favoring McCain in the polls. McCain could ill-afford to lose very many of them.
With all of that being said, the selection of Governor Palin as his running mate will probably have little impact on whether or not McCain wins in November. McCain will sink or swim based on his own appeal to voters, as compared to that of Senator Obama.
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Top-level comments on this article: (4 total)Terry you do find what people are interested in and that is the mark of a good writer. It really is an interesting article from that perspective. Yet, without trying to be negative toward you and I sincerely mean that, in my opinion I marvel that people find it interesting as to anything these politicians profess or do to get elected, regardless if you write to it or others. So please forgive me if I respond assertively, it sort of sums up all I have believed about those who vote.As for me, if I were voting for any of these two candidates I find it a shrewd move based on the Easter Bunny packaging approach and perspective. Sort of tit for tat to negate the black male candidate and place a female in the race. While it has been done before. My suggestion, he should have picked Condelezza. Then he would have cancelled out two critical aspects. Ok, too close to Geoge but there had to be another good solid blackman or woman he could have chosen? Mpw that really would have those voters perplexed.
Great article Terry and well presented. One thing though, I'm an older voter (much older) and yet McCain just solidified my vote for him. I only wish he would reverse spots on the ticket with her..This lady is a highly qualified person and if one will study her background, you'll see that she has accomplished much in the 2 years as governor regardless of who didn't want heer to do it. We need people with her outlook and tenacity. And incidentally, I'm too old for her appearance to make a lot of difference.
Good points, Terry. McCain did a great job of balancing his ticket. But, I disagree with your last paragraph. I think there will be many who vote for McCain based on his VP pick. I think he just picked up those voters who were just not comfortable with him, but were not sure how to cast their vote.I'm still not comfortable enough with McCain to vote for him. Even though I think Palin was a good choice (although she has failed to publicly condemn her daughter's behavior), McCain is still the one at the top of the ticket. I just can't get past that. The Republicans lost my vote this year by failing to nominate Mike Huckabee or Ron Paul. And I still say VP picks generally don't make any difference as far as who wins the presidential election. The only exception I can think of is 1960. If Kennedy had not taken Lyndon Johnson, he probably would have lost Texas -- and consequently the election -- to Nixon.BTW, I hope tonight's installment of the RNC is better than night's. Last night's session was just plain maudlin (that means sickeningly sentimental, for those who are not familiar with that word). We know McCain is a war hero -- enough already!I also didn't appreciate all the wrapped-in-the-flag, borderline fascist bravado. And why was the pro-abortion, pro-gay-rights, pro-fornication, pro-illegal immigration, tax-and-spend liberal Joe Lieberman even allowed in the buidling, must less speak?It's too bad Ron Paul's rally wasn't televised instead. I believe he has more common sense than everyone in the Excel Center last night combined.
I'll have to bookmark this and comment later. Not ignoring you- we just have so much "quota time" in the hospital that we can use for places like searchwarp.I'll be back-The Terminatorhaha..just kidding
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