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August 29, 2008, 10:57 AM ET
Choosing Sarah Palin
CNBC, Fox News, and now NBC are reporting that John McCain has chosen Sarah Palin, the 44-year-old, first-term (first year!) governor of Alaska, as his vice presidential nominee. What a terrible choice.
McCain’s mistake is not in choosing a woman, a governor, or a pro-life conservative—all of which Palin is. It’s in choosing someone whose resume is so short and thin. McCain has just forfeited his two major assets as a candidate—long experience in government and strong commander-in-chief credentials—for, well, for what? And don’t think he won’t pay a price on Election Day: McCain’s age means that, even more than usual, voters will be looking at Palin as a potential president as much as a potential vice president.
Candidates for president can get too clever by half in choosing their running mates. In 1968, Richard Nixon convinced himself that no vice presidential candidate would win him any additional votes. So he chose someone whom few had heard of: Spiro Agnew. What a fiasco.
In 1984, Walter Mondale decided that he needed to choose a woman—any woman. He got Geraldine Ferraro, an undistinguished member of the House of Representatives who, to say the least, did not wear well as a candidate. Four years later, George Bush somehow convinced himself that because Dan Quayle was young and good-looking, he’d attract millions of young people and women to the GOP ticket. As if.
Add McCain’s selection of Sarah Palin to the list.
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