As is obviously widely know, McCain announced yesterday his pick for his running-mate for the upcoming election: the Alaska Governor Sarah Palin.  At first I was obviously a bit surprised (along with the rest of the country), but the more I have contemplated his decision, the more respect I have for McCain in making a choice that clearly has great potential to provide great (needed) strength to his campaign for president.

First of all, Palin is obviously a relatively new face in politics, nearly unknown on the national scale.  Of course the Obama camp has been quick to point out her lack of experience, although Barack himself has been wise enough to refrain so far from making those types of comments. “An Obama spokesman had reacted to the announcement that McCain had picked Palin as his running mate Friday with a statement that called her ‘the former mayor of a town of 9,000, with zero foreign policy experience.’  Obama, who later complimented Palin in a statement, backed away from the criticism. ‘I think, you know, campaigns start getting these hair triggers,’ he said. ‘And the statement that Joe [Biden] and I put out reflects our sentiments.’” (Obama ad on Palin avoids criticism, her name) This is clearly a wise decision: Barack himself has only been involved in national politics since he assumed office in Jan 2005, although he has been involved in politics since 1997.  Palin, elected to be Alaska’s first female governor in Dec 2006, has been involved in politics since 1992.  For Barack to point out her apparent lack of experience would simply open himself up to more questions about his own qualifications for an even higher office.  It has been interesting that even in just the last two days, there have been plenty of people willing to point out that in electing Sarah Palin as VP, if there were ever a problem with McCain’s health, she is “only a heartbeat away from the Presidency”.  The problem with that argument, of course, is that these same people want to put someone just as inexperienced (by their standard of judgment) straight into the Oval Office!

Another reason that Palin adds such strength to McCain’s ticket is her record of actually bringing change to government.  In the two short years that she has been governor, Palin has made some of the largest budget cuts in Alaska’s history, fought corruption on every hand (even publicly campaigning against and challenging Republican leaders to come clean), and worked to help every citizen in the state to have better lives (e.g. the 2008 Energy Relief Act).  Barack, on his part, has helped bring “change” to Washington during his time in the Senate by voting with the Democratic party 97% of the time in 2007, 96% of the time in 2006, and 97% of the time in 2005 (Congressional Quarterly Website).  Coupled with his VP pick of Joe Biden, the sixth longest currently serving Senator, Barack’s entire platform of “bringing change to Washington” isn’t nearly as strong as he would like voters to believe.  Palin, however, provides voters an alternative candidate who has potential to actually bring reform to Washington.

Obviously Palin’s gender is another issue that attracts attention.  A move that will obviously attract some Hillary supporters to the ticket, McCain’s choice of a woman as his VP gives all Americans the opportunity to make history by voting this November.  Being only the second woman to ever appear on the national ticket (the first was Geraldine Ferraro on the 1984 Democratic ticket), Palin’s nomination is clearly groundbreaking. Some Dems don’t agree that it was the best decision, however. Rep. Jim Clyburn, the House Democratic Whip, commented, “I do believe that McCain has to do something to reshuffle the cards, shake up the establishment, do something unexpected and Governor Palin…has all the kinds of things that McCain might see as a way to shake things up,” Clyburn said. He also compared the choice to Walter Mondale picking Geraldine Ferraro, a member of Congress who became the first woman on a national ticket, which he said was ‘absolutely awful’” (John McCain picks Alaska Gov for Veep).  Clyburn’s comments are about 20 years out of date, however, which is surprising coming from someone so new to national politics (he assumed office in Jan 2007), but even more surprising coming from someone who wants voters to ignore history by electing the nation’s first African-American President.

One of the biggest issues in the election this year has become energy and the environment.  Alaska, with its massive oil fields, clearly has a large interest in the future of energy for America, and Palin’s involvement with the issues during her time as governor of the state shows that she would provide a great resource to the nation in dealing with today’s energy problems to create tomorrow’s solutions.  Far from fitting what liberals would love to portray as a stereotypical Republican candidate that is in bed with the oil companies and their executives, Governor Palin was involved in passing a tax increase on gas and oil company profits, brought in advisers to address climate change within AK, and worked to create a real relief for every AK citizen from high prices at the pump.  However, like the vast majority of Alaskans, Palin strongly supports natural gas and oil resource development, which will serve as a means to create more jobs and end America’s dependence on Middle Eastern oil.

Another major issue in the current election is the war in Iraq.  While some have declared that McCain simply wants to continue on the trail that Bush has blazed, the addition of Palin to the ticket injects considerable doubt to that argument.  Palin has a much more personal interest in the war than most elected officials – her son Track is in the U.S. Army, and is scheduled to be deployed to Iraq on September 11, 2008.  Clearly Palin would support McCain’s goal of a stable Iraq that will be a positive contributor to the world’s community for generations to come, but at the same time her vested interest in the proceedings of the mission there will motivate her to help bring the troops home as quickly as possible.

Palin is almost unanimously supported by the citizens of Alaska.  Her approval rating in 2007 was 90%; a more recent July 2008 poll showed that only 14% of Alaskans rated her performance as “poor” (Rasmussen Reports).  If she can muster that kind of support from citizens of a state where over half the voting population is registered as nonpartisan or undeclared, Palin will make a strong case for her ability to do more than most in reconciling the bitter differences drawn across party lines that exist today.

Sarah Palin represents a unique combination of the ideal traits that John McCain needs in a running mate for his bid to become the 44th President of the United States.  Palin is a strong conservative with a proven history of making decisions not according to party views, but rather according to what is right.  As John McCain stated in announcing Palin as his pick for VP, “She’s got the grit, integrity, good sense and fierce devotion to the common good that is exactly what we need in Washington today” (McCain taps Alaska Gov. Palin as vice president pick).

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