by John Graham

Created on: October 23, 2008

Is Sarah Palin qualified to be Vice-President of the United States? In my opinion she is most definitely not.

The position of Vice-President in of itself is nothing more than a holding position, which is largely ceremonial. The Vice-President makes visits both home and abroad and spreads the good word about how well the President is doing his job. Often visitors are eminently pleased to be greeted by the Vice-President even though the position holds no real power. Think back to Vice-Presidents that you have known and very few stand out in the memory as performers. Sarah Palin could do quite well in that role in visiting schools and hospitals and winking at the press.

However, the position of Vice-President is a holding position as a replacement in the event of the death of the President. The Vice-President truly "is a heart-beat away from the Presidency." Thus it was that Harry S. Truman and Lyndon Johnson became Presidents in recent times.

John McCain is 76 and has a significant chance of dying before he is 80, which would result in Palin become the chief Executive, so in answering the question whether she is qualified to be Vice-President the possibility of her becoming President must be taken into account.

That's why I believe she is not qualified to be Vice-President at this time, and why, as a confirmed Republican, I have already voted for Democrat Obama.

Sarah Palin has all the presentable characteristics required for visiting hospitals, shaking hands with visiting dignitaries, sitting down with children in schools, and doing some charity work. In that way she is very like Hilary Clinton. However, Palin hasn't the experience or the brains to act as our chief executive domestically or to negotiate with world leaders. Serving on a Parents Teachers Association, being a mayor of a very small town well outside civilization, and serving for a couple of years as Alaska Governor do not serve as qualifications for the highest post in Government. This is especially true because she has now been shown to have abused her power even in that short time.

She is already an international laughing stock.

Fortunately, this discussion is of small import because Palin will never become Vice-President. She will go down in history as "the broad with a wink" and little else. She will perhaps retire to Alaska with the $150,000 worth of clothes and accessories that Republican Party supporters gave her before she went on the campaign trail.

Obama now leads McCain by ten percentage points in the polls, a lead which is increasing day by day and which is due in no small part to McCain's stupidity in selecting Palin as his running partner.

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