And the VP nominee is…

I have no doubt in my mind that you have no already heard about Sarah Palin: the new Republican VP nominee. So the story broke this morning at around 9:30 here in Minneapolis; Aaron received a text message from NBC. We saw McCain and Palin speak on CNN at the uni. What an interesting choice…

Let me explain basics of just what I think. She is a new person to politics in general, she has had two years as the governor of Alaska. Yes, that’s right… Alaska. But she has many things going for her. Noted as the most popular governor, in just two years she has fought corruption in Alaska. She is a mother of five, which I’m sure you heard as well. She worked her way up the ranks. From basketball coach to PTA all the way up to the governor. I know governing is no easy thing, but it’s hard to say how it is to govern a state with a population of less than 700,000 people. What does that mean for Palin? Palin also has a son shipping off to Iraq, so she is invested in the Iraq war as well. She is a working mother, really starting at the bottom and working her way up the ranks.

This was a political move. There were several other Republicans up for the VP spot as well. By the morning, we knew about Ohio and Minnesota being out. And then there was speculation about a plane from Anchorage coming in 10 p.m. last night. But then there were rumors that Palin was still back in Alaska. Hmm, interesting. Media wanted to break it first. Sarah Palin is a woman. Clearly. She is also a conservative, which McCain did need to go back to. By choosing Palin as a running mate, McCain was hoping it would give enough of a pull to just have him win. 

At the very least, McCain managed to shake up the VP process. She is the youngest, at 44 years old. She is inexperienced in national politics, but the Republicans make the case that she has had executive experience, something Obama does not. Everyone keeps asking the question as to if she’ll get the Clinton supporters. I don’t think its so much about that. I think its more about those women in the middle, who don’t necessarily vote towards either major party. I think its about those people, the more independent voting women. At the same time, if those Clinton supporters decide to go for neither candidate, then they could potentially stay at home. That will also be beneficial to McCain as well. I don’t think that all of a sudden women everywhere will go… ooh look, let’s go vote for her. At the same time, it’ll be an interesting thing to see as it develops. I think there is a case to make for her as a woman… in the sense that she worked her way up on her own. Whether or not you like Hillary Clinton aside, she did have that national exposure as the First Lady under the Clinton administration. I have heard women argue that we actually wouldn’t want her as the first female President because she wasn’t a women’s woman. That they didn’t want the first women President to also have already been the first Lady. 

However, Sarah Palin is a relative unknown. And I think, any way you spin it… she lacks experience. The McCain campaign took a huge chunk of the experience debate off the table. She is also the governor. of Alaska. It doesn’t say much. She is also dealing with a controversy, though nothing is connecting her at this time. 

Regardless, I think it was obviously a nonconventional choice. It was a shocking choice. But either way, in one announcement… the McCain’s campaigns have been able to completely shift the focus away from Obama and his amazing acceptance speech. Some people actually thought the McCain crew was going to announce Thursday night, but he McCain crew repeated that it was OBama’s night. What an interesting story, and I look forward to seeing the VP debate, and how she deals with the the vetting as well.

Tags: Republican, RNC, Sarah Palin, VP