"country first"

no one expectd John McCain to tap Larry Craig as his running mate. after all there's enuf tapping in Craig's bio.

given his major age & health issues it was imperative that McCain make a wise choice. he had a deep pool in which to dive. there was the Mormon & the turncoat Democrat & the closetd gay. but McCain was faltering with the radical right who probably wdn't support any of these candidates. one can appreciate that he has to solidify his base before putting his country first.

deciding to go with a social conservative McCain had Rev. Huckabee in clear view. but for reasons which speak volumes abt his judgment he went with Sarah Palin. I must confess that I had never heard of her before the nomination. but then McCain had only met what his press corps is calling his "soulmate" twice himself. as I got to know something abt this cipher I became depressd. & then I became incedibly angry.

there's no way I'd ever vote for McCain but that doesn't disenfrancise me from having an opinion abt his decision-making process. knockd up daughter aside. Troopergate aside. "bridge to nowhere" flipflop aside. Palin has zero qualifications for stepping up shd nature take its course with the elderly McCain. that he wd imperil the nation with such a choice is staggering.

cultural conservatives boast that Palin had had "executive experience." give me a break. for less than 2 years she's been governor of a state whose entire population is less than Baltimore. compare Alaska's 627000 citizens with Chicago's nearly 3 million for instance. they also are quick to cite her experience as "commander" of her state's national guard. check CNN.com for Campbell Brown's skewering of McCain press aid Tucker Bounds on that issue. if Bounds is as tough as McCain's inner circle will be the nation is screwd.

I suspect McCain's choice felt like a double-hitter to him. snag the evangelicals who have softend on the morality front. then draw in disaffectd Clinton supporters. I can't believe that anyone of any gender who voted for Hillary wd support this wingnut. suggesting Palin simply as woman wd satisfy Clinton's base is an insult.

to me McCain has long been a loose canon. I still can't believe he's the best the Republicans can find. but what shocks me even more is that he's doing so well in the polls. perhaps pollsters shd first ask of an interviwee if they are capable of reading a newspaper.

one hopes that either McCain or Palin will stumble badly in the weeks to come. after all it really is time for all of us to put on our American hats. it's time to put country first & elect Obama / Biden.