It's About McCain

As news about Alaskan Governor and Republican vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin creeps out, there’s a real temptation to focus on all of the fun and gory details. From her days banning books to her flip-flop on “the bridge to nowhere” to troopergate, this woman apparently has more baggage than a Pullman car. However, Democrats need to remember, this is not about Sarah Palin; it’s about John McCain. It’s about his judgment, how he makes decisions and the people he wants in his administration.

Shortly after McCain introduced Palin as his pick, Florida Governor Charlie Crist inadvertently laid out the problem in an interview on CNN. When asked what he thought about the choice and her relative inexperience, Crist said that he was satisfied because John McCain has great “gut instincts.” George Bush has just spent eight years running the country into the ground based on his “gut.” We can’t afford four more years of a President who puts more emphasis on intuition than solid research.

As the revelations about Palin began to emerge, McCain steadfastly maintained that she had been properly vetted. However, details about that process suggest that it was incomplete at best. In fact, no one from the campaign even went to Alaska to ask questions until the day before McCain announced Palin was his pick. Either the McCain team is misleading the media and the country about the vetting process or they have very low standards for “thorough.”

Finally, McCain has chosen a woman who shares some of the worst characteristics of the Bush cabinet. Like Alberto Gonzales, Karl Rove and other Bush henchmen, Palin has a history of politically motivated firings. For a guy who says he wants to move beyond partisanship, McCain is off to a bad start.

Over the next week or so, more revelations about Palin will come out. The media will want to examine every detail and that’s their job. Democrats, however, need to remember that Palin is not the issue; McCain is. Despite her well-delivered speech, Palin is a rookie in big league politics where the game is about to get very rough. Palin will likely disappear except to stand by McCain’s side periodically and try to survive her debate with Joe Biden. McCain, however, has made a revealing choice about the type of leader he will be and that choice reinforces the Democrats’ argument that McCain is four more years of George Bush.