The surprise choice of Gov. Sarah Palin to be John McCain’s running mate seems to be the gift

John Merli
Published: September 3, 2008

The surprise choice of Gov. Sarah Palin to be John McCain’s running mate seems to be the gift that may keep on giving.

The bright and attractive Alaska chief executive brings a lot of worthwhile backstory to the table, and investigative reporters from throughout North America are now descending on Juneau, as we speak, to
delve into that backstory. It’s not that they’re all looking for good news; they smell fresh meat, and no doubt the parting words of more than a few hungry, budget-conscious editors to their Alaska-bound
charges were something like, “Come back with a good story or don’t bother to come back at all.” (I know it’s hard to believe that editors can be that harsh, but such creatures really do dwell among us.
I’ve seen some in-person.)

While the name “Sarah Palin” may be discussed in history classes for centuries to come (or not), already some initial probing has begun to yield fruit for journalists and both parties. We soon learned that
she auctioned off the governor’s private jet on eBay soon after moving into the governor’s house in early 2007. And we’re told she was a critic of that infamous Bridge to Nowhere that Sen. Ted Stevens
tried to champion (although we’re also told she originally supported it). And we now know, too, that she and her husband willingly chose to have a Down’s syndrome child several months ago, rather than
terminate the pregnancy. And we learned (in the same week, no less) that she’s pro-abstinence and anti-sex education and that her teenage daughter is pregnant. Politics does have its ironies.

For Palin’s sake, it would probably be better if all we learned about her ended there. But we’re also learning she hired a lobbyist two years ago to secure $27 million in federal earmarks for her hometown
of Wasilla (pop. 8,000). All in all, she’s a former beauty queen, sportscaster, hunter (lifelong NRA member), and a pro-lifer. And she’s a maverick. In other words, she could have been John McCain’s
daughter (and no, that is not part of the backstory, too!).

But the overriding question is: Is this person qualified to be vice president of the United States? Well, of course, she is. You and I are qualified to hold that post, where the most important duty of the day
(despite Dick Cheney’s considerable reach in recent years, and you saw where that got us) is to inquire as to the health of the president. And to attend funerals. (Well, okay, it’s a bit more than that, but
not much.)

But sit there with a straight face and tell me you can truly picture Sarah Palin walking into the Oval Office six months or two years from now (God forbid, should McCain suffer some fatal or incapacitating
catastrophe) as commander-in-chief and ruler of the free world? Does that scenario come even close to passing a reality check? Seriously. “President Sarah Palin?” Is this the woman that Hillary
supporters and other female voters will flock to, now that Clinton is out of the picture? How insulting to them.

Admittedly, there are more than only conservatives among us asking some of the same questions of Barack Obama. But the argument that Palin and Obama equal each other out ignores the tangible fact
that the Democratic nominee was vetted by his own party through a primary season that was among the longest and toughest ever undertaken. And when the dust settled on more than 40 million votes
cast in virtually every state, he came out ahead. Barely, to be sure, but he was tested and survived.

Gov. Palin has undergone no such scrutiny by the national media or voters outside Alaska. Her vetting process has only just begun. And as Bette Davis’s character shrewdly observed in the movie “All
About Eve” more than half a century ago, “Hang onto your seatbelts, it’s going to be a bumpy ride.”

Contact John Merli at .