McCain Taps Lifetime NRA Member for VP, Shoots Self in Foot

John McCain pulled the trigger today and announced his choice for VP on the Republican ticket; Sarah Palin, Governor of Alaska. Proving that he is still capable of making major mistakes in spite of the recent obvious management of his political campaign by his 'handlers'; the failing McCain of the early primary days is back in force; pulling off a "Cheney" with a quick blast to his own foot.

McCain's has said directly that his primary criteria for his VP choice is their ability to step in and take over the role of President. Is this the best choice he can come up with?
This speaks directly to McCain's judgement when it comes to major decisions. He's impulsive, he's reckless, and he goes off half cocked. This major decision was made on the basis of a single meeting between McCain and Palin. It's a huge gamble. Is this what we can expect from him if he was in the White House? Is he going gamble our country with his reaction to a crisis?

This choice appears to be an obvious pandering to women voters by someone who is completely out of touch with Women's Issues. Somehow in his mind he thinks that a significant number of Hillary Clinton supporters who were not (at least prior to the Democratic Convention) in the Obama camp would rather vote for this "hockey mom" from a small town in Alaska.

Sorry John, but you got it wrong.
The only things working in Palin's favor at the moment, is her likability and that no one knows who she is. Sure, she's smart and well spoken, and may attract those who don't look any further; but what will happen when they look at her stand on the issues? She's as far away from Hillary Clinton as you can get. You don't give Hillary's supporters enough credit.

You might try to position her as being 'against big oil', because she's increased taxes on the oil companies. Read it more as 'sharing the wealth' of big oil then fighting them - Alaska depends on big oil tax payments to subsidize energy and government costs for Alaskans. She's been spending the tax dollars by funneling direct cash payments to her constituents. No wonder she's popular; and Alaskans are in favor of drilling in the ANWR. She's promoted an state economy that is addicted to oil company tax revenue; and bought her popularity with the people. That's the way things have been done in Alaska for a long time. She's hardly a reformer.

She supports expanding oil drilling - in the Arctic National Wildlife Reserve (yep.. she's to your right John..right there with GWB).

She's against putting Polar Bears on the Endangered Species List - why? because doing so might interfere with the construction of the Alaska Natural Gas Pipeline; another cash cow for the state of Alaska.

She's a sceptic on Global Warming (hi there GWB - again!) - in spite of the obvious changes in the state of Alaska.

She's Pro-Life -- (No Exceptions - not even for rape) -- yet.. she approved the hunting of wolves from helicopters, setting a $150 bounty for each killed wolf.

She's a Lifetime NRA member.

She believes in and supports the teaching Creationism in Public Schools. (Ala Pat Buchanan)

As for her political career - (from Wikipedia) Here's a sample of what we know to start:
2 three-year terms as Mayor of Wasilla, AK, a town of under 8,000 (about 1200 votes cast in the election!).

In January 1997, Palin fired the Wasilla police chief and library director. In response, a group of 60 residents calling themselves Concerned Citizens for Wasilla discussed attempting a recall campaign against Palin, but then decided against it. The fired police chief eventually sued Palin on the grounds that he was fired because he supported the campaign of Palin's opponent, but his suit was eventually dismissed when the judge ruled that Palin had the right under state law to fire city employees, even for political reasons.

While Mayor of Wasilla, Palin supported the presidential bid of conservative Pat Buchanan in 1996

As Governor:

Palin initially expressed support for the Gravina Island Bridge project,[21] commonly known outside the state as the "Bridge to Nowhere." However, once it had become a nationwide symbol of wasteful earmark spending and some Federal funding was lost, Palin cancelled the bridge. She was able to keep the Federal money[22] because Alaska's congressional delegation was unable to prevent the state of Alaska from having to pay for part of the bridge's construction.[23][24] She proposed to send Alaskans $1,200 directly, paid for partially by the money given to the state of Alaska that was to be spent on the "Bridge to Nowhere" .[42]

In 2007, Palin approved a $150 cash incentive for each Alaskan wolf to be killed by hunters in helicopters.[43] The incentive was called a "bounty" for killing wolves by Alaska Wildlife Alliance Director John Toppenberg.[43]

Public Safety Commissioner dismissal
Main article: Alaska Public Safety Commissioner dismissal
As of August 29, 2008, Palin is being investigated by an independent investigator hired by the Alaska Legislature[51] to determine whether she abused her power when she fired Public Safety Commissioner Walter Monegan. [52][53]
On July 11, 2008, Palin dismissed Monegan and instead offered him a position as executive director of the state Alcoholic Beverage Control Board, which he turned down.[54][55] Her power to fire him is not in dispute. Monegan alleged that his dismissal may have been tied to his reluctance to fire Palin's former brother-in law, an Alaska State Trooper, Mike Wooten, who had been involved in a divorce and child custody battle with Palin's sister, Molly McCann.[56] Governor Palin on the other hand expressed executive concerns regarding her appointed commissioner's performance and cooperation with her staff in pursuing her administration's goals. This investigation is ongoing and results are pending.

Quoting her directly:
"[A]s for that V.P. talk all the time, I’ll tell you, I still can’t answer that question until somebody answers for me what is it exactly that the V.P. does every day? I’m used to being very productive and working real hard in an administration. We want to make sure that that V.P. slot would be a fruitful type of position, especially for Alaskans and for the things that we’re trying to accomplish up here for the rest of the U.S., before I can even start addressing that question."

(Nice National perspective there - and so knowledgeable about National Office!)

In May 2008, Palin objected to the decision of Dirk Kempthorne, the Republican United States Secretary of the Interior, to list polar bears as an endangered species. She threatened a lawsuit to stop the listing amid fears that it would hurt oil and gas development in the bears' habitat off Alaska's northern and northwestern coasts. She also called the global warming theory supported by Kempthrone and most scientists "unreliable", and asserted that human activity has not caused Arctic ice to melt.

Wow.. what fodder for the news! McCain has confirmed Obama's criticism of the Republican ticket in dramatic fashion.
McCain must be banking on the short time between now and November 4 will not be enough time for people to really understand the risks of this person sitting next to a 72 year old president who has fought cancer 4 times.