If the McCain campaign has been following this blog, the support here for Palin would surely be a factor in the selection. It is fun to watch you guys gloat.

The Hot Librarian!

A brunette too.

I agree with STEVE who remarked earlier, it "[w]orks for me."

Well PETER, you wanted an "exciting" and "energizing" pick, --------------------- I think you got your wish.

She's got less experience than Spiro Agnew and she's governor of a state with a population smaller than the city of Columbus, Ohio. It SURE is exciting!! I wonder how her debate with Biden will go? What a joke!

Considering that Biden finished 6th-to-last in his law school class, I am not too worried about the debates.

I await my retraction from David Frisk who assured me this would never happen.

Andrew, she has MORE experience than the poseur from Illinois, who is overfond of voting "present," instead of "yea" or "nay." Even his fellow Democrats in Chicago and Springfield grew livid with his habitual dodging of decision-making.

Actual attendance records indicate that Obama hasn't actually been up on Capitol Hill for half a year. That's about 175 days. Yet the Dems deluded themselves that this empty set is ready to "lead." "Lead" who, "lead" where? And he's YET to chair a SINGLE committee, OR sub-committee meeting. Not one.

Governor Sarah Palin is clearly a REAL American, a TRUE American, in sharp and stark contrast to Barrack Hussein Obama, {and you betcha' that I'm questioning his patriotism}.

Or think of it this way, we can all say with great confidence that she hasn't read Saul Alinsky. And she's the better for it. And we will be too.

So, less experience than Spiro Agnew, but more than Barack Obama. Hmmm.

Before everyone gets carried away with all this talk about who called what first, for the record, I believe I was the first one here to point out many months ago the fact that Gov. Palin is kinda hot. I'll dig up the link if you don't believe me. I just want my props when they are due me. :-)

But I'm still voting for Chuck Baldwin.

The experience thing will only become a big factor if she stubles badly in the early days (like Dan Quayle did). If she looks and acts up to the job, people will be willing to listen to how her executive experience matches up to that of... Obama. She ran a city and a state. He never ran a lemonade stand that I know of.

And there is reason to think she will do well. She knocked off an incumbent Republican governor in the primaries and beat a former governor in the general election. She looks like a big game player.

But if she stumbles it will reflect very badly on McCain for many reasons.

1. His big theme is Country First, so putting a perceived gimmick choice one heartbeat away from the presidency in order to get some votes is hardly putting country first.

2. The majority of the country thinks thay getting into the Iraq war was a mistake. McCain doesn't. If it becomes the general opinion that picking Palin was a mistake, then the Obama campaign will have some serious ammunition for going after McCain's judgement.

3. McCain is old and has endured more than his share of mileage. His VP would have a greater than usual shot at assuming the office through presidential death or disability. If people decide they are really worried about Palin becoming President it could matter more than public worries about Quayle in 1988.

This close to the election, the MSM will take weeks sniffing down every avenue of Palin. It should leak a steady stream of 'questions' up until the election. Her connections to Ted Stevens, her having out-sourced the pipeline deal to the Canadians, her being under state investigation of impropriety. Then of course the neanderthal gender speculators calling her 'hot' here at NLT will start looking at her un-manly husband.

RED's claiming his props!

One correction to my comment #9. Obama I had forgotten that Obama did run the Harvard Law Review. Thats an executive post and an impressive achievment and I should not have written that he had zero executive experience. Not as much as Gov. Palin of course, but also more than a lemonade stand by a damn sight.

Funny enough, but David Frum just posted on his blog, basically the same concerns concerns I wrote of in comment #9. The thing is, I think that they are overblown as a political matter. Palin's background on energy issues strengthens McCain's position on one of the few issues the Republicans have an edge on. She solidifies McCain's position with social conservatives as well as Huckabee would have but with none of Huck's baggage with economic conservatives. If moderate female Clinton supporters feel cheated of making history, this gives them a chance to do so while voting Republican. Her statewide executive experience is a plus. If the Obama people want to talk about experience she can talk about going after corrupt Alaska pols and compare it to Obama's cultivating the support of the likes of Ayers.

But all the political positives are dependent on her performace in the next week. Alot of people in the media are going to be ready to magnify any slip up to show that she is "not ready for prime time" For whatever reason, Biden has a resevoir of respect among the media and Washington establishment. That means that he is likely to get a break if he makes a slip of the tongue. A conservative outsider like Palin probably won't get the same slack. Its not fair but thats how it is.

Her speech with McCain today was pretty good. Not great, but it was better than the speech Biden gave when Obama introduced him last Saturday. If she can give a really good speech at the convention and no skeletons come out of the closet (did McCain really vet her closely? I sure hope so.)she should be a big positive.

Congrats Peter. I'm very happy with what I thought was a wise pick but they should try not to put Palin and Mac side by side too much-he looked like a proud Dad standing next to his accomplished daughter...she must be the most attractive vp candidate ever though I guess that's not setting the bar too high..

I don't know much about Palin and I don't now much about Alaska. I like Ice Road Truckers and Dangerous Catch. The idea of Alaska is somewhat romantic in a rugged cold prospecting for gold and oil hunting Grizzly fishing for salmon kind of way...we bought the state from Russia..and the kind of people that live there seem different. You can immagine driving up to the Wendy's in a snowmobile and asking fred for the baconator with a side of fries and a beer(not because wendy's serves beer but because fred drinks a few on the job from his personal coleman, and you know this because you know him.) In other words everything is corporate, but the enforcement is personal, because getting to work is a team effort involving shovels and 8 feet of snow.

Even the capital Juneau is not connected by a road, and will barely have 30,000 people when Palin leaves.

I mean that it is a different world, fixations with the names of her children or speculation involving if she fired the police officer who was married to her sister...all that is what politics looks like in a relatively isolated and unique community.

Being from Alaska is "maverick" in its own way. I don't know if I can buy the sort of "maverick" McCain might be trying to sell, but from a comfortable hobbit hole with a pipe and some good breakfast in me...well I am interested in hearing the story strongly suspecting that actually taking part in the story makes the grizzly and bone soaking cold aspects prevail over the immagined.

Hot Librarian? you haven't even left the library yet...

Hilary Clinton, Michelle Obama and Sarah Palin are all physically attractive women. This "hot librarian" is a stunningly attractive and appealing woman. She seems to be a very happy, secure, loving and genuine person. I think she is every bit as attractive to women as to men.

Dr. Lawler, your humility is almost as impressive as Mac's pick. She is THE pick for true social conservatives. Besides, perfect hair looks great on Sarah...not so for Mitt!