The Real Problem With Palin

There has been quite a rush to judgment about P.O.W.'s selection of a Woman: The Woman is unqualified! The woman will solidify P.O.W.'s base! The woman loves guns (yay! boo!)! She was a Buchanan supporter (yay! boo!)The Woman is corrupt! The Woman is a reformer! The woman is a libertarian! The Woman is an ignorant theocrat! Picking the Woman was a cynical and pathetic attempt to steal Hillary's voters and will backfire! The Woman balances the ticket and picking her is a stroke of genius! The Woman means they can't attack Obama on inexperience! At least the Woman has executive experience, and no one on the Democratic ticket does! That the Woman's teenage daughter is pregnant proves, well something bad!

It seems like a few weeks, or a debate or two, would be good before we assess how smart and capable she really is. But here's the fundamental problem with Sarah Palin. Before I say what it is, I'll clarify that not all Republicans are bad. There's Ron Paul. There's former New Mexico governor Gary Johnson. Maybe Palin has held some positions closer to them than say, the rabid regulator McCain. Maybe she is more conservative in the good sense than McCain. Maybe she's a little more libertarian. If part of the reason she was a Buchananite was agreement with Buchanan's foreign policy realism, good for her.

Nevertheless, the Palin showed incredibly poor judgment in the very act of accepting the position of McCain's running mate. To support the election of Mr. "Bomb bomb bomb bomb bomb Iran," to believe McCain should have access to the button, shows incredibly poor judgment. Anyone who would run with McCain is, for that very reason, not fit to be either Vice President or President.

Then again, now that I think about it, if I were asked to be McCain's running mate, I would accept. Then I would go out and make a fool of myself and sink the campaign. My name would be the butt of jokes for generations, but I would believe my sabotaging of the campaign and ensuring McCain's defeat would be worth the personal humiliation. But there's no reason to believe this is the Palin's intention. If she embarrasses herself and sinks the campaign, it would probably be unintentional. And if she proves to be sane, articulate, and knowledgeable, this may well be a close race, she may very well put McCain over the top. Perhaps that what scares people (it certainly scares me), and has prompted all the premature smears.