Red's turn

Today, after a delay due to Hurricane Gustav, the Republican's get to party down in St. Paul. They are kicking off their party convention as I write this. Over the next few days they will showcase McCain and Palin and try to make their case to the country that they are the best choice in the coming election. The conservative talking heads have been trying their best, and not so best, to defend McCain's pick of Sarah Palin. Count on seeing a lot more of their attempts to backup this pick. I really like her as a person. I also think it makes a lot of sense politically. But I don't think its going to stand up to the smell test when it comes to her being "the best candidate" for the job. The fact remains that she has less experience then other possible VP candidates that were considered, she has no foreign policy experience and as much as they would like to include her two terms as mayor in the "executive experience" count, there is a difference between running the federal governement and being mayor of a town of 6,700. The indisputable fact remains that she was picked solely because she was a woman. I don't see how anyone can possibly dispute that fact. And to me, that she was picked because she was a woman and not because of her experience, is the biggest problem I have. From everything I've read about her she is a very charismatic and intelligent woman who really believes in the values of the Republican Party. Give her another 5 - 10 years of experience as governor of Alaska and maybe some cabinet level position and she could become a viable presidential candidate herself. But right now, I just don't know if she'll be able to hold her own in the cut-throat world of modern day American politics. Is it fair? Probably not. But since when has life ever been fair?