The Old Man and the She

Update: Most observers mention Palin’s less-than-two-year administration of Alaska's National Guard as a sardonic reference to her stunning lack of credentials to become commander-in-chief, but not Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Janesville); Ryan hypes it.

Said Ryan in a statement: "As the head of Alaska's National Guard and mother of a soldier she understands the importance of supporting our brave men and women in uniform. … I look forward to giving everything I've got to help the McCain-Palin team win in Wisconsin, so they can bring the right kind of change to Washington." (MJS, Aug. 29, 2008) The GOP looks like some desperate dudes. Can you imagine any Democratic nominee for president or vice-president touting his/her credentials by pointing to heading the Alaska National Guard for less than two years?

Like a modern-day Santiago, the politically ailing John McCain battles the titanic forces of Barack Obama and spears his GOP the largest catch of his political life: The great marlin in the form of Governor Sarah Palin.

At least McCain managed to convincingly tap down the expectations of the GOP convention, if Hurricane Gustav does not force a postponement.

But there is no fleeting joy in McCain's vice-presidential pick, and less than 24 hours after the roll-out, the sharks and those Hillary-voting women (you know how they get), have left the political carcass of Sarah Palin as a symbol of McCain battling a man and a country with ideas whose time has come.

Really, does McCain believe every woman supporting Hillary is as dumb as former Wisconsin DNC delegate Debra Bartoshevich?

The selection of Sarah Palin is not only a colossal lapse of judgment, it is a demonstration that McCain is surrounding himself with people who can not or will not speak truth to power. Either McCain’s advisors are afraid to tell him that he is making a major mistake or, perhaps more importantly, he isn’t listening to them in the first place. Way to be a maverick John.

Or, this may be a manifestation of the fact that John McCain is not so very smart.

Gail Collins today (is she ever a meanie, can't wait to read Maureen Dowd tomorrow) has some fun in the New York Times:

... McCain does not believe in pandering to identity politics. He was looking for someone who was well prepared to fight against international Islamic extremism, the transcendent issue of our time. And in the end he decided that in good conscience, he was not going to settle for anyone who had not been commander of a state national guard for at least a year and a half. He put down his foot!

The obvious choice was Palin, the governor of Alaska, whose guard stands as our last best defense against possible attack by the resurgent Russian menace across the Bering Strait. ... The idea that women are going to race off to vote for any candidate with the same internal plumbing is both offensive and historically wrong. ... If she’s only on the ticket to try to get disaffected Clinton supporters to cross over, it’s a bad choice. Joe Biden may already be practicing his drop-dead line for the vice-presidential debate: 'I know Hillary Clinton. Hillary Clinton is a friend of mine, and governor, you’re no Hillary Clinton.'