by Brad Sylvester

Created on: October 23, 2008

When George Bush selected Dan Quayle as his Vice President, it was widely rumored that the choice was made because his advisors thought Dan Quayle's good looks would help secure the vote of women. He certainly wasn't chosen for his ability to spell, or his foreign policy knowledge (they really don't speak Latin in Central America, Dan). Now John McCain has chosen an inexperienced, and polarizing extremist woman, Sarah Palin as his running mate. It certainly appears that the choice was made in a blatant attempt to win the erstwhile supporters of Hillary Clinton who have, thus far, resisted attempts to realign them with Barack Obama. It is certainly very difficult to imagine that Sarah Palin would have been selected for Vice President if she was a man. Why? Because there are dozens of more qualified men for the position. Don't get me wrong, there are dozens of more qualified women as well. Unfortunately, Sarah Palin isn't one of them. The Republican thinking seems to be that these women just wanted to be able to vote for a woman, any woman, and that talent, experience, and being qualified for the job of President has no importance for women voters. John McCain's choice of the female equivalent of Dan Quayle is insulting to women and to all of America.

America deserves a second in command who can fulfill the duties of President for all Americans should that need arise. Sarah Palin is not that person. Hillary Clinton is a qualified candidate who happens to be a woman. Choosing Sarah Palin as a token woman on the ballot says that one's sex is more important than one's qualifications. The anachronism of quotas and token minorities on the ticket reminds us that John McCain is himself an anachronism with most of his ideas and policies as lost in time as his choice of Sarah Palin.

We've seen what happens when poor choices are made for Vice President (cough, Dick Cheney, cough) and it isn't pretty. Nor is it good for America. A Presidential candidate who makes a choice like Dan Quayle or Sarah Palin, shows that he puts other considerations before the welfare of the country, namely his own ambitions. This choice gives us not only a Vice Presidential candidate who is unfit for the job, but also points out John McCain's faults as well. John McCain is 72 years old, and, if elected, will spend up to eight years as president. Should his health fail during that time, Sarah Palin, the female version of Dan Quayle, will be running the United States of America. I can hardly wait for the vice presidential debates. Joe Biden against Sarah Palin. That should be entertaining. I just wish that John McCain had considered more than entertainment value when he decided to choose Sarah Palin as his Vice Presidential running mate. I suppose it could be worse, John McCain could have picked Vicki Iseman to be his running mate.

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