Seriously?

Sarah Palin? I guess McCain's decided to stop bringing up Obama's lack of experience. It's McCain's 72nd birthday today. By the end of his first term, he'll be 76. He has had health problems. Neither his age nor his health is a disqualifier for president, but it makes the VP choice very important. There is a very real chance that, if he is elected, Palin will eventually have to step in as President.

Sarah Palin's experience includes 2 years as governor of one of the most sparsely populated states in the Union, and Mayor of a town most people have never heard of until today. She has less foreign policy experience than Obama, less domestic policy experience than Obama, and (considering she's younger than Obama) less life experience in general.

On top of this, bigots from red states who may previously have come out to vote against Obama might stay home now. Female PUMA (Party Unity My Ass) voters might also stay home, considering the fact that Palin, though female, is pro-Life, whereas your average Hillary voter is strongly pro-Choice.

Oh, and there's nothing like naming a running mate who is currently involved in an ethics scandal to boost your credibility as a straight talker.

I think this was a bad decision for McCain, and we really won't know until after the election's over. Any bump he gets from this is going to get lost in his Convention bump. If he doesn't get a bump from picking Palin or from the Convention, that could just be because Obama's speech last night was such a success. Maybe we'll be able to see if she's helping him after the VP debates, but by then I think we can expect so much political background noise that it will be hard to pin down. And even if she does give McCain a big bump or a big dip at the VP debates, that could easily be Biden's fault (or vice versa).

This is going to be an interesting election....