It seems to me that there are several damning things revealed about McCain in his choice of Sarah Palin as his running mate. First and foremost, despite having had six months in which to evaluate the potential candidates and vet them thoroughly, in the end McCain made an impulsive and rushed decision, apparently dictated solely by immediate (and superficial) political calculus and a desire to create buzz. There is nothing in the pick that remotely resembles McCain's admonition to "put country first." Indeed it appears that McCain's true preference in a running mate was Lieberman, but he lacked the political courage to stand up to the right wingers on this.
The second thing that leaps to mind is McCain's impetuousness* in making this call. He literally does not know this women. It appears that he met her twice. The notion that one would opt for an individual with as thin a resume as Palin without really knowing her indicates a contempt for the idea of thinking about tomorrow, about the practical realities of governance, and about one's own possible mortality as a 72-year old cancer survivor.
Third, it shows McCain's complete and utter contempt for women as political beings. He appears to be saying: You didn't get Hillary and you're disappointed -- completely understandable. So we'll give you a woman whose only characteristic in common with Hillary is certain body parts -- there, there, that should make you happy. Only someone as bitter as Geraldine Ferraro could possibly find this offer appealing.
This needs to be a big part of the way that the Palin selection is attacked, in addition to making clear that she is a right wing extremist.
Amazingly, the Washington Post** ran an article today that appears to have been virtually dictated by the McCain campaign, making the case for the careful vetting that Palin went through. Inexplicably, almost everything in the entire article is anonymously sourced. Why journalists allow themselves to be used in such a transparent fashion remains a mystery to me.
* I have approvingly linked to a Joe Klein column -- anything is in fact possible.
**Speaking of the Post, have I mentioned before that David Broder is an incredible asshole who is totally in the tank for McCain?
