Imagine -
Sarah Palin is president of the United States. How would that be? Well, we really don't know.
We do know it is a real possibility if we elect
John McCain president. If elected, McCain would be 72 years old when he took office. He has a history of melanoma and is assuming the most stressful job in the world at a time in life when most of us choose to slow down a bit. So, perhaps more than any other candidate, his vice presidential running mate should be carefully scrutinized.
A good place to begin the scrutiny is to ask what would have happened if she had run for president on the Republican ticket. How would that have gone? What would McCain have said about her in a debate? What would Romney have said? Remember, Huckabee and Romney's experience in the international arena was questioned. What would have happened to Ms. Palin in that same campaign?
What really is her experience? She was a successful mayor of a town of less than 10,000. She, as governor of Alaska, helped defeat Ted Stevens on a boondoggle issue. Her foreign affairs experience - she traveled to Kuwait once. One can argue she's a politician with some promise but that doesn't mean she's ready for the most powerful position in the world. Normally, we don't want a person learning on the job with their finger on the button.
For Denver folks, it's interesting to look at the population of Alaska. The 2007 census shows it having 683,478 people - less than 100,000 more than Denver. Normally, we don't send our mayors directly to the White House.
Alaska is also interesting because it has very few Latino and African-Americans. It doesn't have any major metropolitan areas either. One hopes that the president of the U.S. would have a bit of experience dealing with the challenges that face our cities on a daily basis.
What are her views on some of the key issues?
Global warming - not caused by humans.
Abortion - should be banned, even in the case of rape or incest.
Education - teach creationism in schools also.
Oil - more drilling, even in places where endangered species would be threatened.
Political endorsement - she supported Pat Buchanan for president in 2000.
Finally, her selection says a lot about John McCain. It says he thinks Hillary's supporters are dumb enough just to vote for any woman. It says he doesn't think things out before making a decision. It truly creates doubt about his judgement.