McCain Gets Younger

So, by now, I'm sure everyone has heard the news about John McCain selecting Alaska Governor Sarah Palin to be his running mate in the general election. Ah, but what to make of it?



I'm sure Democrats will be upset that he made the announcement on the same day that Barack Obama accepted the Democratic nomination in that functional, workmanlike speech in Denver. That, in and of itself, was interesting: gone were the uplifting, flowery words of hope ("Yes, We Can!"), replaced with actual step-by-step planks of what Obama hopes to do once he assumes the Presidency. I know the NY Times talking head didn't like it, but let's be honest. Obama has taken heat for his inexperience and lack of substance, and he really needed to show that he can be serious about running the country. I thought he did a great job, and for the first time, I heard some things from Obama that I really appreciated. I really liked it when he said we should be able to find middle ground on issues like gun control, gay rights, and abortion. Even if it is an agreement to disagree, I like the move to the middle. The far left and the far right have dominated their respective party politics for too long.

Of course, Obama's choice in his VP selection, Joe Biden*, showed that he was also serious about filling the holes in his own resume by picking a running mate with considerable foreign policy chops and a long legislative track record. I was surprised that Obama didn't pick Tim Kaine, Kathleen Sibelius, or some other Governor from a state that could really help him. By picking another Senator from a small population east coast state, I'm not entirely sure Obama helped himself as much as he could have. It will be interesting to see how the general election plays out.

* When I told my mom, who was vacationing in Colorado at the time and had no access to news, about the Joe Biden pick, she was devastated. A die-hard Democrat who has been on the Obama bandwagon for quite a while now, she had no excitement over the naming of Biden to the ticket.

But then McCain announced his VP choice in Sarah Palin. Which really means he is also serious about filling holes in his candidacy. McCain knows he can't really be challenged by Obama on foreign policy issues or on his experience in the Senate. (Yes, that's what Biden is for.) McCain has been taking heat on the age issue, though. If elected, McCain will be the oldest first-time President sworn in to office in the history of the U.S. He's been shown to be out of touch with the Internet and e-mail. His cultural references are older than the Baby Boomers. He really needed to connect with a younger generation, and Palin fits that bill.

By all accounts, Palin is considered a maverick on par with her new running mate. Appointed to a high position by the previous Republican Governor of Alaska, she exposed corruption within her own party. She brings a blue-collar mentality to the ticket, as her husband works on the oil pipelines in Alaska. She also is adamantly pro-life, which should help McCain with the right-wing evangelicals within the Republican party.

It's too early to say whether a McCain-Palin ticket will have the same effect as the Mondale-Ferraro ticket in 1984. Already, Geraldine and Hillary have praised the decision to name another woman to a major party Presidential ticket. It would be not a little disingenuous to say that McCain is not deliberately reaching out to the Hillary supporters, all 18 million of them, with his choice in running mate. Politics can be a dirty business, and you gotta do what you gotta do to win. Bill Clinton said words to that effect back in the '90s.

They say that genius usually comes with a tincture of madness. It will be interesting to see if McCain's move is a stroke of genius or the desperation of a madman.