Maverick McCain, Shows Political Genius In Palin Pick

John McCain has shown yet again he is a maverick, and that’s a good thing.  His move to pick Governor Sarah Palin for a Vice Presidential running mate is unexpected, and pleasantly surprising.  I have a number of disagreements with this campaign on issues, but highly respect the genius of McCain’s pick.  In no particular order, here are some of the positive things about this decision:

• SHE’S A WOMAN  After Barack Obama passed over Hillary, there are a number of disaffected Democrat females.  By picking a woman running mate, these disaffected Democrats will be interested in seeing what the McCain campaign is all about.  If McCain picks up just 5-10% of these women voters, he will win.
• SHE’S A GOVERNOR  Governors are always more popular than Washington D.C. politicians making this a good selling point.  Being governor of Alaska, she is about as far away from the beltway as she can get.  Presumably, this puts her closer to relating to middle class voters, than say, two U.S. Senators running together.  Also, not to be overlooked, the position of governor gives her executive experience, which is good; because she’s now running for the number 2 position in the Executive Branch!
• SHE’S A CONSERVATIVE  This is an area where many hardcore conservatives have had reservations about the McCain campaign.  “Is he truly a conservative?”, they might ask.  There is no doubt about her credentials in this area.  As governor, she has cut 10% of state spending.  In addition, when the price of oil increased, she gave money back to state residents out of the state surplus.  To help mitigate high gasoline costs, she suspended the state gas tax for one year, saving residents 8 cents per gallon.  McCain has campaigned on reducing wasteful spending at the federal level, and has also proposed suspending the federal gas tax.  Gov. Palin is a great fit on fiscal philosophy for the McCain campaign.  Palin also has a son, who enlisted in the U.S. Army.  He is due to be deployed to Iraq.  This is sure to resonate with voters, who will see her family making this sacrifice.  Many have criticized the Washington politicians for supporting the war in Iraq, callously ordering other peoples’ children into action.  Gov. Palin has a personal stake in seeing that service members contributions are valued in Washington.
• SHE’S AN ETHICS REFORMER  As governor, Sarah Palin has earned a reputation for championing ethics reform.  Notably, this means taking some hard stands against members of her own party, Senator Ted Stevens, specifically.
• SMALL TOWN ROOTS  Gov. Palin has been a PTA president, city council member, mayor, and now governor.  She has served at local and state level for some time and can balance a budget.  Already, the Democrats are trying to suggest being from a small town makes her more insignificant.  This is insulting to the 50% plus portion of the voting block that comes from rural and small town America.  If the Democrats continue to try and push this, they will suffer horrendously at the polls in November.
• FORMER UNION MEMBER, HUSBAND A UNION MEMBER  While I am not personally a fan of unions, many people are.  They tend to be Democrats, and also tended to support Hillary Clinton.  (Do you see what I’m getting at here?)  Some of these voters may fall in the category of disaffected Democrats, and may decide to vote for McCain because his VP has some union affiliations.  Think that’s a silly reason to vote for somebody?  Don’t laugh.  Some people I know take this very seriously.  They even take it to the point of only drinking union made beer, and only driving union made cars.  Being sympathetic to unions will be a factor in swing states like Michigan and Ohio.
• ENERGY ISSUES EXPERTISE  One does not become governor in a state like Alaska, without becoming educated on energy issues.  Oil money is hugely significant to the state economy there.  This is important expertise Gov. Palin brings to the table.  She is in favor of drilling in ANWR, a view that McCain does not share.  However, McCain is in favor of expanded drilling in other areas, as well as expanding energy production from nuclear, solar, natural gas, and other sources.  Gov. Palin can contribute much in the way of regulating energy production in a way that is sensitive to environmental concerns.  Basically, for her, it’s a case of “been there, done that”.
• PRO-LIFE  Governor Palin is pro-life.  This is a big issue for religious conservatives who have had some doubts about McCain  (some were scared his VP would not be a pro-life candidate).  Palin has 5 children, the youngest only 5 months old.  Sadly her baby has Down’s Syndrome.  She is devoted to, and proud of her children.  This is something mothers across America will respond to.
• SHE’S A WINNER!  Sarah Palin beat a Republican incumbent governor in the primary.  She then went on to beat a Democrat, incumbent, former governor to win her current office.  After being governor for 2 years, Palin’s approval rating in Alaska is 80%.  She has experience taking on entrenched politicians, and winning with an emphasis on reform for the good.  In an election cycle where everyone is talking about CHANGE,  she can truly bring change to the table, upsetting the business as usual attitude in D.C.