Today, McCain made public his choice for VP. His choice, Sarah Palin is the governor of Alaska, currently serving in only her second year in that position. Before then, she was the mayor of Wasilla, Alaska, a town of only 6,500 where the biggest concern was whether there would be enough snow for the annual Iditarod Dog Race. Once again, as in his decision to support the Iraq invasion, and the fact that he has largely supported Bush's policies, McCain has demonstrated his terrifying lack of good judgement. Let us not forget that McCain will soon be turning 72 in a few day's time, therefore his VP choice is only one heart attack away from the most powerful seat in the world. We should be rightly terrified with his pick, and perhaps more terrified at McCain's own ability to make good decisions.

Palin, a far right social conservative, will rejuvenate conservative support for McCain, but will not accomplish much else. The conservative base would've voted for McCain anyways because the only other option is a liberal Black man. Therefore, McCain does not score too many new points if this was part of his reasoning.

McCain may have also chosen Palin because of the fact that she is a woman. Perhaps McCain was hoping to snare former Hillary supporters who may identify with the soccer mom image that Palin presents. However, even here, McCain is probably unlikely to achieve the results that he may have wanted. Palin's unwavering pro-abortion beliefs are probably going to dissuade many women from voting for her, the majority of whom do support the right to choose and are against the overturning of Roe Vs. Wade. Also, with the enthusiastic endorsements that both Clintons have given Obama over the past few days, and the respect with which Obama has shown Hillary, it is likely that the vast majority of Hillary supporters will now shift their support towards Obama. McCain, again has demonstrated a poor understanding of the dynamics in this regard.

McCain's choice of Palin also hurts him tremendously by undercutting his primary argument against Obama; lack of experience. While Obama may be lacking in experience, he has served in Washington as a senator, is well versed in international issues, and has had tremendous personal experience living abroad which has allowed him to gain insight to foreign cultures that no vacation can ever achieve. Palin is the governor of a state that only figures on the international stage when it comes to the energy issue. Otherwise her experience and worldview are dismally provincial. Remember, Alaska has a smaller population than the city of San Diego. Her socially conservative views already suggest that this is a person with sheltered and perhaps stereotypical views of foreign countries and cultures. Imagine having Palin sit across the table from Vladimir Putin of Russia or Hu Jintao of China, the gap in knowledge and depth with her would even be larger than between those leaders and our current president.

McCain's decision must be contrasted with Obama's choice of Biden for his VP pick. Biden, who has demonstrated a deep knowledge of world affairs would simply crush Palin in any debate over a range of issues. McCain has better hope that Palin possesses enough of a photographic memory to wing her way through core issues, however the facts suggest that she is in for a trouncing. In addition, by choosing someone who is already dogged by scandal and controversy in her home state, McCain has added more headaches than necessary in an already close and fraught campaign. In contrast, Obama has chosen a VP pick that is competent to step in as Commander in Chief from day one. The same simply cannot be said of Palin, though I am sure she is a great mom and was probably a popular mayor of Wasilla.

McCain, a diehard supporter of Bush's failed policies, has demonstrated once again why he is not fit to be Commander in Chief. He has demonstrated extremely poor judgement, poor strategy and a lack of wisdom in his choice for VP. In addition, his choice not only imperils his campaign, but imperils the interests of our nation should he succeed in becoming president. At the age that he is, we should rightfully be worried that there is a good chance that Palin will be a surprise Commander in Chief. That chilling thought should be enough for most rational voters to turn away from McCain. Once again, McCain has demonstrated that he just "doesn't get it". His choice for VP is a disaster for his campaign, but if elected, will be a disaster for the United States.