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Is It Palin ?

By Doug Mataconis | Related entries in 2008 Election, McCain, Republicans

The Chicago Tribune’s Swamp blog is reporting that Alaska Governor Sarah Palin is John McCain’s choice for his Vice-Presidential running mate:

A Republican source confirms that John McCain has chosen Alaska Governor Sarah Palin to be his running mate. Campaign officials, however, remain mum this morning.

McCain is expected to announce his choice at a rally in Dayton later.

Palin is the first woman governor of Alaska, elected in 2006. She was also the youngest ever elected at the age of 42. She is the mother of five children, the youngest of whom was born in April and has Down’s Syndrome. She ran on a clean government platform in ‘06 to defeat the incumbent Republican Governor Frank Murkowski.

McCain reportedly considered Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney and Connecticut Sen. Joe Lieberman, among others.

Palin is a social conservative who is strongly opposed to abortion and same sex marriage. In addition, she is pro-gun and wildly popular in Alaska.

The dam appears to be breaking and, barring the possibility that this is the best executed head fake of all time, it appears that Palin is the choice.

Initial reaction ? Smart, very smart perhaps, definitely suprising, but also very, very risky.

This entry was posted on Friday, August 29th, 2008 and is filed under 2008 Election, McCain, Republicans. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

One Response to “Is It Palin ?”

mw Says:
August 29th, 2008 at 8:53 am
Wow. I was ready to throw in the towel on McCain,, and just start thinking about 2010… he made the only call that could save his campaign.

Absolutely right about this being a high risk pick. But on the other hand, a conventional pick like Romney or Pawlenty was an absolute guaranteed loser.

To the extent energy becomes a central issue in the campaign, Palin can speak with more authority and expertise than Obama, Biden, or McCain.

Is she a known quantity with a resume and track record that shows she is ready to lead the country? Absolutely not, just like Obama, but with a bit more executive experience (governor vs. senator).

Genius. This just got a lot more interesting.

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